The Atlanta Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors in overtime on Saturday night in one of the most exciting games of the year at State Farm Arena. Stephen Curry did his best to carry Golden State, finishing with 60 points and 10 three’s, but the rest of the squad needed to give him more help. Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and the Hawks earned a gutsy victory to stretch their win streak to four games.
The Hawks’ offense struggled to find a rhythm in the first few minutes with turnovers and a lack of spacing. Atlanta’s first two buckets came off an offensive rebound and a layup off a blocked shot. Jalen Johnson connected with Clint Capela on an alley-oop to jumpstart the Hawks’ offense. Capela took complete advantage of his size down low scoring eight of the first 12 Atlanta points. As a team, the Hawks scored 16 of their first 19 points in the paint, recognizing Golden State’s lack of rim protection. Young knocked down a heavily contested fading three with the game clock winding down. However, Warriors guard Lester Quinones stunned the State Farm Arena crowd with a 45-foot heave to beat the buzzer, giving his squad a 33-28 lead after the first quarter.
Quinones cashed in another three for his career-high 11th point early in the second. The Warriors started taking ill-advised threes, and the Hawks capitalized. Atlanta put together a 10-0 run, punctuated by a Jalen Johnson triple, to take a 40-38 lead. Midway through the frame, both teams’ poor shot selection led to multiple airballs in an ugly offensive stretch. However, Murray brought the Hawks out of the offensive rut with two layups to take a 57-52 lead. The Warriors started 4-9 from deep to begin the contest but shot 5-17 after their hot start, allowing the Hawks to maintain their significant advantage in paint points. The game was tied at 64 at halftime with Capela posting a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double. Curry led Golden State with 19 points.
The Hawks’ came out of the locker room on fire. They went on a 10-3 run that included two Young threes and a Capela putback to take a 74-67 lead. After this stretch, both teams’ offenses seemed like they got stuck in the mud. The Warriors began the quarter 4-13, and the Hawks shot just 5-13 from the field. Atlanta could not capitalize on their run to grab a comfortable lead. Golden State struggled on the glass early but tied the Hawks’ 13 offensive rebounds in this frame and knotted the score at 89 heading into the fourth quarter.
Head Coach Quin Snyder drew up a corner three for Onyeka Okongwu to start the fourth but quickly called a timeout when Curry got to the rim for two easy layups. Trayce Jackson-Davis threw down a thunderous dunk around Okongwu in transition that stunned the crowd. The Warriors took the momentum from the dunk and ran with it, going on a 7-0 run to take a 107-104 lead. Curry continued to cook from deep and Jonathan Kuminga slammed one home after a steal. Bogdan Bogdanović responded with a three and a euro-step, and-one layup to put the Hawks back in front. Everyone in the arena was on their feet when Curry scored the final 13 points for the Warriors, including three triples, to give them a two-point lead with 14 seconds remaining. Golden State doubled Young at halfcourt, but he found Johnson who gave it to Murray for a patented mid-range pull-up to tie the game. With 4.1 seconds left, Curry had a fading, contested floater in the air, but it bounced off the rim, taking this exciting contest to overtime.
Young drew a charge to start the extra period, and the Hawks rallied around their star. Murray scored seven straight points on an 11-0 Atlanta run to begin the period. Curry got a layup and triple to cut the lead to six, but an Okongwu dunk and Johnson and-one sealed the victory, sending Hawks fans into a frenzy.
Young finished with 35 points, six assists and shot 7-11 from downtown. After a subpar start, Murray went nuclear in the fourth and overtime frames for 19 points and seven dimes. Okongwu closed the game and dominated with 22 points (8-12 FG), 16 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Capela took care of business in the first half. He finished with a 17-point, 15-rebound double-double, and Johnson dropped 21 points, eight assists and 13 boards.
Curry’s performance included a career-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. Kuminga scored 16, but he fouled out with a minute remaining. After the first few minutes, Thompson struggled for 10 points on 4-19 shooting, while Quinones dropped 17 points on 4-8 shooting from downtown. Rookie Brandin Podziemski stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Hawks have the opportunity for a season-best five-game win streak on Monday when the Los Angeles Clippers visit State Farm Arena. Atlanta has taken down superstars such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Curry on this homestand. The Hawks will be on a mission to add Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to that list.
