Atlanta Hawks: Valiant Effort Falls Short Vs Golden State

The Atlanta Hawks put up a great fight, against the champion Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately the upset attempt failed, as the Hawks were beaten 103-110.

For the second straight game on their west coast road trip, the Atlanta Hawks had a chance to steal a road win. Once again the Hawks failed to capitalize on their opportunities and were unable to overcome the more experienced team.

Atlanta got off to a good start and was on top 23-20 after the first quarter. It was a balanced effort for Atlanta, as Taurean Waller-Prince, Vince Carter, Kent Bazemore, and DeAndre’ Bembry all made multiple baskets in the quarter.

The Hawks were able to hold serve in the second quarter and led 52-49 at the half. Taurean Prince led the team with nine points in the quarter, making three shots from downtown. Trae Young assisted on two of those three shots.

The third quarter was once again difficult and threatened to be the Atlanta Hawks undoing. They gave up a game high 33 points in the quarter, trailed by nine points on multiple occasions, and by as many as 10 in the quarter. Deandre Bembry made a three at the end of quarter, and the Hawks trailed by six after three.

Atlanta fought hard in the fourth quarter. They trailed by as many as 14, but cut the lead as low as five. Taurean Prince did his best to keep the Hawks in the game, scoring eight of the their 27 points. The Hawks ultimately fell by seven as Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson were too difficult to contain, scoring 29 and 24 points.

Warriors Steph Curry missed the game due to a groin injury. Draymond Green did not play because of a one game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, after a heated argument with teammate Kevin Durant.

Taurean Prince seems to be fully healthy and led the Atlanta Hawks in scoring for the second straight game. He scored 22 against the Warriors. That was the second consecutive game Prince scored over 20 points for the Hawks, after going through a rough stretch.

Coach Lloyd Pierce and his staff have also done a better job running sets to free Prince up for open jump-shots in the last two games. It’s clear that the Hawks are a much more dangerous team when Prince scores 20 or more points.

In addition to the points, Taurean added four rebounds and four assists. He also took care of the ball, turning it over only twice. Prince shot the ball very well, making 8/14 from the floor and 4/7 on three-point field goals.

Kent Bazemore added 17 points for Atlanta. He was 7/16 on field and 1/4 shooting threes. Alex Len chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds on 6/8 shooting. On the downside, Len only made 2/5 free throws

DeAndre’ Bembry came off the bench to score 13 points. He was an efficient 4/7 shooting. He knocked down 2/3 from the land beyond. Vince Carter also came off the bench and shot the ball very well, making 3 of the 5 three pointers he attempted. He shot 4/7 overall and notched 11 points.

Jeremy Lin rounded out the double figure scorers, scoring ten points, making 4/9 shots, and 2/5 from three. Alex Poythress was the Hawks top rebounder with eight boards off the bench.

Trae Young played a good floor game, dishing out nine assists vs only three turnovers. He also added five rebounds and three steals. Unfortunately Trae was ice-cold shooting the basketball. He shot 2/12 and missed all five of his three-point shots.

The most concerning thing about Trae Young’s performance is, he wasn’t aggressive enough. He failed to earn a single trip to the free throw line and ended the game with just four points. He sat the final 7:55 in favor of Jeremy Lin.

Trae is still rushing his shots from outside and needs to correct that asap. He must shoot better to make teams pay. With that said I’m not a fan of him being benched for poor shooting. That should be reserved for teaching moments due to poor decision-making.

Rookie Omari Spellman had his second tough game in a row, after back to back good games. He grabbed only three rebounds and scored zero points in 14 minutes. Fellow rookie Kevin Huerter was a non factor as well, scoring just two points and grabbing two rebounds in 14 minutes. He was 1/4 shooting.

As a team Atlanta shot well, making 44.9 percent and 37.5% from three. The Hawks who are undefeated when they shoot a higher percentage than their opponent from three, allowed the Warriors to make 44.4 percent from downtown.

Being under 15 turnovers, is something we have discussed as a Hawks’ formula for success. The Hawks turned it over 17 times against Golden State. The Warriors scored 23 points off of those turnovers. Atlanta forced 13 turnovers, yet scored only ten points off of them.

The Hawks will face the Denver Nuggets in Denver on Thursday November 15, at 9PM EST. The Atlanta Hawks have now dropped five straight games and are 14th in the Eastern Conference.

We are still on watch for the return of John Collins. He did make the road trip, so it’s a chance he could play on Thursday.

The Hawks will see an old friend Paul Millsap when they visit Denver. However center Nikola Jokic, who is posting averages of 17.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 6.9 assists will prove to be their toughest challenge. Guard Jamal Murray leads Denver in scoring at 18 points per game. Guard Gary Harris is scoring 17.1 per contest.

Coach Lloyd Pierce needs to play the young guys more minutes in order to help them develop. This includes Trae Young, who is playing just over 30 minutes per game. If the Hawks are going to take their lumps, it should be with the young guys leading the way.

What do the Hawks need to do to get back in the win column? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Keep it locked to ATL All Day for more analysis on the Atlanta Hawks, and all of your favorite sports teams.

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