Hawks Fall to 1-3 in Summer League with 70-69 Loss to Portland

Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Any visions of a a Summer League “title” came crashing down last night in Las Vegas, as the Hawks fell at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 70-69.

It was a tale of two halves for Atlanta, who led by 10 at the half and by as many as 16 in the 3rd quarter, before running out of gas offensively to end the game. The Hawks scored only 28 points total in the second half and overtime combined, and it was as ugly as it sounds.

Mike Scott led the scoring for Atlanta for the second straight game, finishing with 19 points (on 7 of 17 shooting) and 9 rebounds over 34 minutes. Unfortunately, the wing combination of Jared Cunningham and John Jenkins virtually shot the Hawks out of the game, combining to shoot just 7 for 25 from the field and 3 for 11 from three-point distance on the night.

There were some encouraging signs from the rookie class, and it wasn’t just from the two first-rounders. Mike Muscala battled throughout, grabbing 12 rebounds (5 offensive) in 29 minutes, and despite a rough shooting night (4 for 11), he acclimated himself well. Dennis Schröder played very well early and finished with 16 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals on the night. It wasn’t all pretty for the point guard (he had 6 TO’s), but I’m liking what I see more and more from him.

Brazilian center Lucas Nogueira only played 20 minutes on the night, and was generally manhandled in the paint again. However, he managed to block 4 shots in that short amount of court time, and knocked down a jump shot for good measure.

Portland was led by 13 points and 17 rebounds from Thomas Robinson (who’s a beast), and 19 points from their lottery pick, CJ McCollum.

The Hawks will play their fifth and final game in Vegas on Friday evening. It will be a 6 pm ET tip-off against the Shabazz Muhammad-led Sacramento Kings. Stay tuned.