This may have been the most complete game for the Atlanta Hawks this season. Atlanta trailed the Charlotte Hornets only once in this game and that was at the 11-minute and 41-second mark, when Charlotte led 2-0. Atlanta essentially controlled this game wire-to-wire, claiming their fourth straight victory, 113-91, on the road.
The headline matchup on paper was, Trae Young vs. Lamelo Ball, but it was not much of a match, as Young was clearly the better player on the court. Young finished with eight three-pointers made, tying a career-high, and a total of 30 points on 45% shooting. He also had a +14 +/- rating for this ball game.
In Ball’s defense, he was on lock down by Hawks forward, De’Andre Hunter. Ball finished with 3 points on 1-of-7 shooting, went 0-for-4 on three-point attempts, and had 2 assists and 2 turnovers, when guarded by Hunter. Overall, Ball finished with 19 points, 4 assists, six rebounds, and failed to hit any of his eight three-point attempts. The Hornets as a whole shot a putrid 4-of-36 from three-point land.
Hunter turned in another great performance, finishing with an efficient 20 points. The big news with Hunter involved a hard foul by Hornets forward, Kelly Oubre Jr., in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Hunter attacked the rim from the baseline, and was fouled in the air by Oubre Jr., sending him crashing hard to the floor. Hunter stayed down for a few moments but was eventually able to get up to stay in the game. Oubre Jr. was ejected for a flagrant foul two.
“I hate to see anybody fall like that, out of control, but I didn’t try to hurt him maliciously,” said Oubre Jr. during the post-game press conference. “So the refs made the call, and we had to go with it.”
The Hawks next play Wednesday, so Hunter’s status for that game should be considered as up in the air. For Atlanta fans, this moment was especially scary, considering Hunter just got back on the floor after missing several months with wrist surgery.
Atlanta now starts a five-game home stand at State Farm Arena. The Hawks now sit at 21-25, as the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference. They are a game and half outside the play-in tournament, and only four games back of the 6th seed. This home stand, coupled with the current four-game winning streak, could be a pivotal moment for Atlanta to get their season back on track.
They take on the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night, for their annual trip to Atlanta. The last time these two teams met in California, a short-handed Hawks team defeated the Kings, 108-102. Tip-off for this game is at is at 7:30pm eastern standard time.
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