Atlanta Hawks: Takeaways From Comeback Win Over Rockets
The Atlanta Hawks staged an impressive fourth quarter comeback to beat the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. What stood out the most from their victory?
No disrespect to the various theme parks that populate the United States of America, but the 2016-17 Atlanta Hawks are the most exciting roller-coaster in the country. Just when a blowout loss has fans questioning the meaning of life, the Hawks totally redeem themselves with a big-time win against an elite opponent.
Heading into Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets I thought there was little chance Atlanta would come away with a win. They had just gotten blown out by the Miami Heat and were facing the third best team in the Western Conference in a road game on the second night of a back-to-back. That’s usually the recipe for back-to-back blowout losses.
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The Hawks were competitive in the first half. Both teams traded the lead back and forth during the half and Houston took a three point lead into half-time. The Rockets took control of the game during the third quarter, thanks to an offensive explosion from James Harden. After three quarters, Houston held an 86-73 lead.
With 8:26 remaining in the fourth quarter Houston’s lead had grown to 20 points. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had used that large margin as an excuse to go on a late night milkshake run. Then the game changed. Atlanta staged a furious comeback to erase the 20 point deficit.
The shocking final score was 113-108 Hawks. Overall the Hawks shot 51.8 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from outside. They turned the ball over 21 times, which helped the Rockets build their large lead.
Houston’s offensive struggles kept Atlanta in the game. They shot just 37.6 percent from the field and 25.5 percent from outside, but they did make 25 free-throws. Houston took some questionable shots down the stretch that aided Atlanta’s comeback. The Hawks locked down defensively, but they definitely got some help from the home team.
After the game the stunned crowd in Houston tried to rationalize what had just happened. I’m still not sure I understand what happened. Well, I know one reason why it happened.
That reason is Tim Hardaway Jr. Let’s dive into the comeback.