Coming off a blow-out victory over the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night, Atlanta had one final stretch before the All-Star break to string together some wins and go above .500 for the first time since November. It looks like they will have to wait until after the All-Star break to chase that feat. The Hawks were blown out at home against the San Antonio Spurs, 136-121. This game was never close with the Spurs holding a 26-point lead at one point, and the Hawks never led at any point in this game.
This is truly another head-scratching loss for Atlanta this season. The Hawks came out flat and the lack of energy was noticeable, plus the same problems of over-helping on defense and no offensive rhythm were on full display once again.
“I didn’t expect this, we played great basketball against Indiana and played well on both ends of the floor. Understanding the position that we are in, the games that we have before the All-Star game, we talked about that, we addressed that,” said Hawks Head Coach, Nate McMillan. “Every game is extremely important for us with the position we are in and to just not have that energy, to come out as flat as we did, and give up 43 points in that first quarter. We weren’t in the building.”
San Antonio took advantage of the lackluster effort from Atlanta and finished with 73 points in the first half, while hitting 12 three-pointers as well. The Spurs shot 18-of-32 overall from behind the arc, compared to Atlanta’s 14-of-43. Spurs guard, Dejounte Murray, had himself a career-night, finishing with a triple-double of 32 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds. He is the first San Antonio player to ever post a 30-point/15-assist triple-double.
It is tough to find any silver-lining for Hawks fans in this one. The team looked out-matched, out-classed and out-coached. The lone bright spot could be Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had another nice outing off the bench, finishing with 23 points and hitting five three’s by himself.
Trae Young was bothered all night by the Spurs length and athleticism on defense. His final stat line of 18 points and 11 assists earned him another double-double on the season, but it was not effective as the game was basically decided after halftime.
“Besides the fact that we got to have a better start, starters got to play better,” said Young. Young was brief with his comments during the postgame presser.
Atlanta now falls three games under .500 and the best they can do is draw even before the All-Star break, with only three games remaining. Atlanta’s next opponent is the Boston Celtics as they travel up to Boston’s TD Garden.
Boston are winners of seven straight and have been riding a top-ranked league defense during this stretch. Boston’s last loss actually came against Atlanta back in late-January, and since then they have been on a tear. The Hawks have beaten the Celtics in both of their match-up’s this season, both games were played in Atlanta. This will be a primetime match-up on ABC for Super Bowl Sunday. Tip-off for this game is at 2:00 p.m. eastern.
