The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Sacramento Kings 122-107 on Monday night at the Golden 1 Center. Trae Young was ruled out after entering the league’s concussion protocol following their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 20. Head Coach Quin Snyder started Bogdan Bogdanović in Young’s place, but the Hawks severely missed Young’s offensive firepower as they struggled mightily in the first-half offensively.
After shooting 0-12 from the floor against the Cavs, it was nice to see Saddiq Bey knock down a three early when both teams were not knotted at seven. Shortly after, Harrison Barnes turned back the clock, driving to the rim for easy layups and free throw’s. He led the Kings on a 10-1 run for a 15-8 lead, while the Hawks shot just 2-11 from the field. Without Young, Dejounte Murray and Jalen Johnson were the two offensive engines for the Hawks. Murray started with a quick seven points, but Johnson missed a lot of good looks, as did most of the Hawks. Barnes had a 12-point first quarter to lead the Kings with a 27-24 advantage at the end of the first frame. Shockingly, the Hawks shot 28% compared to the Kings’ 50%, but Atlanta only found itself down three points thanks to 10 free throw attempts.
In the second quarter, the Hawks struggled to convert good looks at the rim. They missed their first eight shots, while the Kings went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 36-24. Johnson could not find his shot, starting 1-11 from the field. However, Hawks fans should be encouraged the 22-year-old knew he had to be more aggressive with Young out. The Kings drove to the rim at will with Malik Monk setting up Domantas Sabonis with crafty assists out of the pick-and-roll to extend their lead to 47-31. The Hawks scored five points in the final five minutes of the quarter and shot 3-19 from downtown at halftime, leading to a 57-40 deficit. Atlanta shot 24% from the field, but that number would rise significantly in the second half.
The third frame saw the Hawks go on a 7-0 to cut the lead to 66-49. It was the first time the Hawks’ offense generated a consistent flow. Murray caught fire from deep while Atlanta extended their run to 16-2 to cut the deficit to 12. The Hawks held the Kings scoreless for almost four minutes until Keegan Murray gave Sacramento an offensive boost. He went on a personal 7-0 run to give Kings fans a sigh of relief. De’Aaron Fox, after a slow start, got downhill into the teeth of Atlanta’s defense, giving the Kings an 87-69 lead heading into the final quarter.
Onyeka Okongwu closed the final 17 minutes of this game, and he made his presence known with a thunderous posterizing-dunk over Trey Lyles to begin the fourth frame. Dejounte Murray and Okongwu had great chemistry on the short roll, as Okongwu found Garrison Mathews for corner three’s throughout the contest. Dejounte Murray knocked down a three from the top of the key to cut the Kings’ lead to 90-80. However, right when Atlanta gained momentum, they could not stop sending the Kings to the free-throw line. The Hawks cut the Kings’ lead to 10 or below twice in the final frame but could not generate enough stops down the stretch.
Dejounte Murray finished with 35 points (6-10 3pt), 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the Hawks. Bogdanović totaled 18 points against his former team, and Bey had 13. Johnson and Clint Capela scored 11 points each, but both struggled to score efficiently.
For Sacramento, Sabonis and Fox did not play up to their standards. Fox finished with 12 points on 5-16 shooting, while Sabonis finished with 14 (4-10) points and 21 boards. Barnes was the main culprit, totaling 32 points on 4-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Keegan Murray scored 13 points, while Monk tallied eight assists and 13 points off the bench.
The Hawks’ next contest comes Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center. Young will likely miss that game, so Atlanta must find a level of offensive consistency without its star point guard to finish this West Coast road trip with an even record.
