The Hawks allowed a 22-point lead to slip to single digits but held on to secure a home victory.
The Atlanta Hawks notched a second straight victory as they took care of business at home against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, securing a 125-114 victory at State Farm Arena. Trae Young led the Hawks in scoring with 25 points and 10 assists with Georges Niang adding 23 points off the bench. For the Warriors, Jimmy Butler III scored 25 points, and Moses Moody added 20 points.
Heading into this contest, the Hawks were handed a fortunate break with an injury to Stephen Curry midweek ruling him out with injury. Despite this, the Hawks were still considered underdogs but certainly did not play to the same tune to begin the game, powering to a 24-16 lead in this game before racking up a double-digit lead — even a 20-point lead in the first quarter.
The scoring was very balanced in the first quarter; anyone who stepped onto the court made a scoring contribution. Young and Zaccharie Risacher both scored eight first quarter points with Dyson Daniels adding seven as the Hawks shot 65% from the field en route to 40 first quarter points.
The Warriors reduced the gap in the second quarter, but the Hawks still remained in control with a 12-point lead behind a 69 point first half on 60% shooting from the field. Perhaps more impressively, the Hawks racked up 23 assists in the first half alone with just three turnovers — an extremely efficient first half.
However, the Warriors struck first in the third quarter to reduce the lead to six points, but the Hawks absorbed the early blow and struck back, re-establishing their double-digit lead, boosted by three three-pointers from Niang off the bench.
The Hawks looked as though they were cruising to an easy victory in the final frame, taking their lead to a game-high 22 points, but they hit a wall as the Warriors hit threes and free throws, reducing the lead to 10 points with 4:15 remaining.
The Hawks were struggling offensively, their scoreline stuck at 110 for nearly three minutes, but they hit some big shots to get themselves back on the board, including this drive to the rim from Caris LeVert to finally end the drought:
Once this shot fell, the Hawks were able to string a number of shots together, despite Golden State doing the same. After a Gary Payton II basket, the Hawks miss a shot but get the ball back thanks to Daniels’ third steal of the game. In transition, the Hawks get the ball up the floor quickly, with LeVert finding the cross-court pass to Risacher who hits a clutch three:
The Warriors hit their next two baskets, reducing the Atlanta lead to eight points, but the Hawks found another response as Young fakes Payton off the three-point line and he hits the floater:
When Moody scores on the other end to reduce the lead back to eight points, LeVert weaves inside and hits a jumpshot to re-establish the double-digit lead:
The Hawks, by now, have weathered the storm, prevented the Warriors from cutting the lead any more, and drained clock in the process. From here, they are able to hold out, an alley-oop from Young to Onyeka Okongwu sealing the deal with under a minute remaining.
Other than that stretch in the fourth quarter, the Hawks put together, essentially, a strong 45 minutes in this game to build up enough of a buffer when things went awry briefly.
Overall, the Hawks played very well and Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was able to separate this from the Hawks’ wobble in the fourth quarter.
“We made some plays when we put ourselves in a position where we needed them, so it’s always good to see that,” said Snyder. “I thought throughout the course of the game we did a good job executing the game-plan, particularly offensively. They’ve been playing great defense and you saw that late when we weren’t able to generate good looks. That can happen. We just got to make sure we’re not making it not as easy on them, turn the ball over in those situations. Really a good effort. I thought we passed it. You have to play with the pass against them, they’re so aggressive with their shifts. Some breakdowns on both ends late put us in a situation where there was game-pressure on us. When we had that game-pressure I thought we responded well.”
Caris LeVert played an important role in the Hawks hitting some baskets to stabilize the Hawks’ offense to get them back on track. His ability to get to the rim, drive by defenders, and hit jumpshots opens up a huge amount offensively, with Young detailing what exactly LeVert opens up for him.
“He brings a lot of scoring ability and brings a lot of attention,” said Young when asked about LeVert. “More times than not, a guy’s face-guarding me now and not letting me go. Gary Payton was on me and holding me the whole time. Whenever he (LeVert) starts going, beating his defender and getting into the lane it forced the defense to help in other ways, so I’m able to get the ball later in the clock, get downhill and shoot a floater or find somebody else later in the clock. That helps us and adds another dimension to the offense.”
LeVert finished with 14 points off the bench in another strong performance, while bench compatriot Georges Niang enjoyed a strong second half (18 points) en route to 23 points for the game, hitting six threes in the second half alone. Niang’s and LeVert’s scoring efforts helped the Hawks outscore the Warriors’ bench 49-34 — a key area in which the balance tipped in the Hawks’ favor.
The starting lineup certainly played their part too in keeping up with the scoring production. Trae Young scored an efficient 25 points (9-of-15 shooting) to go with 10 assists on the game, while Risacher (14 points) and Daniels (12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) also contributed meaningful scoring contributions in addition to defensive contributions, with Daniels collecting another three steals on the defensive end.
Onyeka Okongwu was really strong in this game, arguably the most impactful player on the court last night — 22 points on 10-of-16 from the field, 2-of-3 from three, 12 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.
Okongwu’s playmaking has leveled up this season, with the Hawks more and more comfortable playing through him.
“He’s got really good instincts,” said Snyder of Okongwu’s playmaking. “Guys trust him, we trust him even more. He’s been really effective rolling in those situations where he’s on the perimeter — whether he’s spacing the corner or he’s got the ball at the top of the floor and he’s passing and spacing — those are things that he’s learning to do more and more, and getting more and more comfortable. It’s something he’s worked on, and right now we’re seeing it translate.”
Offensively, Okongwu’s offensive tendencies serve him so well around the basket. He’s strong on the glass, his hook shots are typically very efficient, and his three-point shot has been a lot more efficient of late.
“O is playing great,” said Young. “His touch around the rim, getting the ball, he made some big threes for us early in the game. He’s been playing really well lately so we’ve got to keep feeding him, getting him the ball in areas that he’s been good at. He needs to stay aggressive for us.”
Since the All-Star break, Okongwu is averaging 15 points per game on 57% shooting from the field, 43.8% from three on 2.1 attempts, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
“Just being aggressive, finding my rhythm and making sure my confidence is at an all-time high,” said Okongwu on his run of form.
All in all, the Hawks played a really strong game — 124 points on 57% shooting from the field, hitting 15 threes on 41% shooting, 37 assists, 60 points in the paint, 19 points fastbreak points, 18 points off of turnovers, and 14 second chance points.
The final winning margin of nine points doesn’t really do the Hawks justice. Trailing for just 11 seconds in this game and leading by as many as 22 points in the final quarter, they deserved a lead larger than nine points by the end, but that three-minute spell in the fourth quarter made this game closer than it should have been. However, the Hawks made some crucial shots to steady the ship and essentially traded baskets the rest of the way.
With Steph Curry, who knows how this game unfolds, but it was still an entertaining fixture in which the Hawks played well. The Hawks are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and while there’s not much that can be done to rise to the sixth seed at this stage, the Hawks are playing very well at the right time of the season.
When you do that, you never know what can happen, but the Hawks are certainly doing all they can at this stage of the season and haven’t given up on anything.
The Hawks (34-36) are back in action tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers (23-47) at State Farm Arena.
Until next time!