Atlanta Hawks collapse again late to Toronto Raptors, 96-86
Mar 23, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard
Kyle Lowry(7) celebrates a win as Atlanta Hawks center
Pero Antic(6) walks off the court at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Atlanta 96-86. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Hawks blew a lead to the Toronto Raptors today and picked up their second loss of the weekend after doing the same thing to the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night.
After taking a 71-60 lead into the fourth quarter, the Hawks managed to completely fall apart on defense and allow the Raptors to 36 points while only putting up 15 of their own. In the end, the late collapse did them in, and the Raptors walked away with a 96-86 win.
Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll led Atlanta with 17 points apiece, and Pero Antic added 10 rebounds, but those were about the only bright spots for the Hawks in this one. Jeff Teague scored 16 points, but it took him 13 shots to do it (he made just five). For some emphasis, Kyle Lowry took just three more shots than Teague, but managed to score 25 points.
According to Kris Willis, of PeachTreeHoops.com, the Hawks are starting to make a habit of late-game collapses:
"Atlanta put in a solid effort for three quarters but is struggling to finish games. They allowed 42 fourth quarter points in Friday’s loss to New Orleans and 36 more on Sunday against the Raptors. The Hawks held Toronto to just 37 percent shooting through the first three quarters but the Raptors connected on 12-20 attempts in the fourth."
Old habits die hard, so they might want to figure that out sooner rather than later.