The Atlanta Hawks took down the Golden State Warriors Friday night at home, by a final tally of 121-110. Atlanta climbed back to .500 as they look to continue their accession in the Eastern Conference rankings in pursuit of a playoff spot. Golden State, who was without Steph Curry for the fourth straight game, has now lost three of its last four without their star guard.
The Warriors came out hot, scoring 42 points in the first quarter, but defensively, they let the Hawks linger by allowing 36 points as well. It was a high scoring affair in the first half, as both teams were on pace to score 125+ points. Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson each had 22 points by halftime for Golden State. Poole only finished with 24 for the evening, but did manage to dish out 10 assists. Thompson exploded for 37, nearly breaking his season-high of 38 points, and he hit an impressive nine three’s on 56% shooting.
Golden State is famous for their third quarter run’s, which can end a game in an instant, but it was Atlanta who took a page out of the Warriors’ book with their play in the third period. The Hawks outscored the Warriors, 32-16, and took firm control of this one. Trae Young was dominate during this stretch, finding ways to score and setting up his teammates in the process. Young had 15 points and 4 assists in the third quarter alone, as the Warriors had no answer for the young Hawk.
Young was able to finish with another monster double-double of 33 points and 15 assists . Young now leads the league with the most 30-point/10-assist games, at 18, and he is now the league leader in total points scored, at 1913, and total assists, at 648.
Danilo Gallinari gave another quality start filling in for the injured-John Collins. ‘Gallo’ finished with 25 points on the night and was a reliable contributor for Young. Kevin Huerter played great, finishing with 20 points overall, and hitting a dagger 24-foot three-pointer to ice the game with 1:11 left. Clint Capela was a thorn in the side of the Warriors all night, as he anchored the paint offensively and defensively, on his way to 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hawks have another golden chance to climb above the .500 mark against the Indiana Pacers Monday. This is the final time Atlanta will see Indy this year and the Hawks have defeated the Pacers three times already this season. With only eight games remaining, Atlanta mathematically has one push left in them to have any chance of avoiding the play-in tournament. Albeit unlikely, it all would need to start with a win in Indiana, and the Hawks reaching a plus-.500 record for the first time since early-December. Tip-off for this game is at 7:00 p.m. eastern from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
