Atlanta Hawks Worn Down in Loss to Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol had a triple-double and lead the Memphis Grizzlies to an emphatic win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night.
The Hawks laid a beating on the Grizzlies on Saturday night but the two teams reversed roles on Thursday night.
This was a close contest between the teams at halftime, as the Grizzlies led 55-52 after two quarters of play. But the Grizzlies stepped on the gas in the third quarter and never looked back en route to a convincing 103-91 win.
Marc Gasol and Mike Conley led the way for Memphis, as both dominated their respective matchups and put up huge numbers. Gasol had a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. “Big Spain” got off to a fast start with nine first-quarter points and continued to hurt the Hawks with his playmaking ability for the rest of the game.
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Conley absolutely dominated Dennis Schroder in this game. Conley dropped 22 points and 12 assists while holding Schroder to 10 points, on 4-of-16 shooting, and only three assists. As brilliant as Gasol was, Conley’s performance may have been more valuable due to his domination of the game’s tempo and shutting down of Atlanta’s floor general.
The offensive flow just was not there for the Hawks in this game.
They scored just 91 points and had only 19 assists as a team. The ball was not moving as it needed to be for the Hawks to create good looks and they were forced to settle. That can be partly attributed to Schroder’s struggles. He was, simply, no match for Conley in this game.
They were also out-hustled badly, losing the offensive rebound battle 16 to eight. But there were a few glimmers of light for the Hawks.
Taurean Prince, who scored a career-high 17 points in Saturday’s win over the Grizzlies, shined again against Memphis. Prince finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and four blocks, in a performance that was very sharp on both ends. The rookie from Baylor played with more energy than any Hawk and appears to be carving out a big role for himself.
The Hawks were led in scoring by Tim Hardaway Jr., who had a typical game by his standards. Hardaway Jr. finished with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Kent Bazemore added 16 points of his own.
Paul Millsap also had a bad game. The four-time All-Star finished with just 10 points, on 3-of-9 shooting, and three rebounds. It is very difficult for the Hawks to win if both Millsap and Schroder, the team’s top two scorers, are neutralized.
Dwight Howard was outplayed by Gasol in this game but did not have a bad outing. Howard had a double-double with 10 points (on only five shot attempts) and 11 boards, and also added three blocks.
The Grizzlies absolutely wore out the Hawks in this game, holding them to just 13 third-quarter points to break the game open. The Hawks lacked discipline, hustle, and execution in this game and looked very out of sorts.
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Atlanta will be back in action on Saturday when they welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to town. They better hope that they perform better than they did in this game.