The Golden State Warriors blew out the Atlanta Hawks 134-112 on Wednesday night at the Chase Center. Atlanta played its second consecutive game without Trae Young due to a concussion. The Hawks sorely missed their engine offensively, only scoring 44 points in the second half compared to the Warriors’ 65.
However, Atlanta’s offense came out firing with a 10-3 lead early. Saddiq Bey and Dejounte Murray knocked down early threes, and the Hawks made their first five shots. After a rough game against the Sacramento Kings, Jalen Johnson had no issues offensively in this first half, finishing effectively around the rim. After a cold start, Golden State came roaring back when Atlanta missed their next 13 field goal attempts. The Hawks went 4:30 without scoring until Patty Mills hit back-to-back threes. The Warriors’ bench had a huge impact. Nobody could deter Jonathan Kuminga from getting to his spots as he scored at will in the paint. He went on a personal 5-0 run to give Golden State a 38-31 advantage heading into the second quarter. Despite the Hawks hitting seven threes, they found themselves down seven early- not a great sign.
Both squads took advantage of transition opportunities to start the next frame. The Hawks found Johnson on multiple dives to the rim, but Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry did damage from beyond the arc. The score was knotted at 54 until Thompson drilled a 29-foot pull-up three, igniting the crowd on a fastbreak to put the Warriors in front by six. Johnson continued his rack attack, converting a tip-in and and-one to end the second quarter on a 7-0 Hawks run. Atlanta cut the deficit to 69-68 at halftime.
Strangely, the Hawks totaled 37 points- their best offensive frame- without Murray scoring a point. Johnson led the team at the half with 17, and Mills’ 11 points gave Atlanta a big boost. The Hawks dished out 19 assists through the first 24 minutes, but the offense would slow down in the second half.
Bey knocked down a three to give the Hawks a 71-69 lead- the only time they led in the contest. Murray called his own number scoring five quick points, but besides the first few minutes, Atlanta could not find a rhythm offensively. They did not take advantage of the minutes Curry sat on the bench. Instead, the Warriors increased the lead late in the third quarter during this stretch. Kuminga was the driving force, bulldozing his way to the paint. The Hawks were just 4-18 from the field and 1-5 from downtown to begin the frame. Unfortunately, bad third quarters have been a recurring theme for Atlanta this season, and Golden State took a 101-92 lead into the final quarter.
Kuminga continued his reign of terror, driving through Johnson’s chest multiple times for layups. The Hawks never found the same offensive flow as the first half, but the Warriors scored consistently throughout the contest. Golden State scored over 30 points in every quarter. They ballooned the lead to 116-102 and never looked back. The Hawks only managed 18 points in the first 10 minutes of the final frame. As the game reached blowout territory, both coaches emptied their benches with just under three minutes to go.
Murray finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Johnson totaled 21 points, nine boards and six dimes. Bey bounced back from a long shooting slump to score 18 on 3-6 shooting from downtown. Capela posted an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Bogdan Bogdanović added 17. Mills chipped in 13 points to lead the bench, but the rest of the reserves struggled mightily. Atlanta fell 61-22 in bench scoring.
For the Warriors, Kuminga finished a perfect 11-11 from the field, tying a franchise record for most makes without a miss. He totaled 25 points and nine rebounds. The Splash Brothers, Curry and Thompson, ended with 25 and 24 points, respectively, and shot a combined 10-18 from deep. Draymond Green dropped 12 points and two steals, and rookie Brandin Podziemski added 10 off the Warriors’ bench. Golden State won the paint points convincingly 62-42.
The Hawks have now dropped three straight games. They will look to regroup back in Atlanta when they start their longest homestand of the season on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
