The Atlanta Hawks closed out a hard-earned, 108-98 win, against the Orlando Magic on Friday night at State Farm Arena. The final box score paints a picture of a wire-to-wire win for the Hawks, but that was far from the true game flow.
Both teams struggled offensively out the gate, and the Hawks relied on De’Andre Hunter early by scoring the team’s first six points. Cole Anthony came off the bench like the ‘human torch‘ for Orlando towards the end of the first quarter. Anthony hit his first five shots, scoring 14 points in five minutes. Atlanta trailed, 27-19, after the first quarter, shooting a paltry 32% from the field.
The Hawks found their footing in the second period after forcing Orlando into turnovers and generating that into fast break offense. Dejounte Murray had his paw prints all over this game, collecting another four steals, following his Hawks debut of five steals against the Rockets. He finished with another near triple-double putting up 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Trae Young labored much of the first half with his shot and turnovers, finishing with only two points at half-time. Despite his struggles, the Hawks managed to claw their way back to only a 54-50 deficit. Young would not be silent all game. In the second half, “Ice Trae” came out firing on all cylinders, finishing with 25 points and 13 assists, including four threes.
John Collins fueled the Hawks, for the second straight game, with another stellar shooting night. He chipped in an efficient 23 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Collins shot 9-14 from the field, including 3-4 from beyond the arc. One sequence in the third quarter, saw Collins steal the ball from the 2022 number-one overall pick, Paolo Banchero, on a post-up and go coast-to-coast for an emphatic two-handed dunk. This play seemed to shift momentum, as the Hawks trimmed the Magic lead to just one, heading into the fourth quarter.
The young-Magic team was no match for the more experienced Hawks in the final quarter, as Atlanta clamped down on defense to hold Orlando to just 17 fourth-quarter points. The Hawks’ defense frustrated Orlando all night long forcing 19 turnovers. Banchero finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but Collins did a great job of holding him to just 6-18 shooting.
While the Hawks turned it over 17 times, including six from Young and seven from Murray, their defense and Young’s second-half outburst propelled them to victory. While it was not the smoothest game by any stretch, a win is a win in the NBA, and Atlanta is now off to a 2-0 start.
They will look to continue their winning ways on Sunday when the Charlotte Hornets come to State Farm Arena before the Hawks hit the road for a five-game trip.
