Atlanta Hawks Drop Overtime Thriller to Orlando Magic 110-106

The Hawks played their first overtime game of the season but were unable to win a tight, seesaw affair that saw 9 lead changes and 10 ties in Orlando.

A few questionable calls at the end of regulation – including a three from Kent Bazemore that was waved off even though the ball was out of his hands as the shot clock read 0.0 – and a general carelessness in possession let the Hawks down on this night.

This was an entertaining game with many unusual moments, including Marco Belinelli’s 900^th career three-pointer and the Magic absolutely pummeling the Hawks in the paint throughout the game and overtime – except, strangely, in the 2^nd quarter, when they went scoreless in the restricted area.

The 2^nd quarter was a major victory for the Hawks, who outscored the home team by a convincing 29-13 margin in that period. In the end, though, the interior size of the Magic was far too much for the thoroughly shorthanded Hawks to deal with as both frontcourt studs for the Magic, Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, had huge games for the home team.

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As has been the case for almost every game played by the Hawks this season, the opposing starters outplayed the Hawks’ starters for vast swathes of this game. Sure, the Magic starters have some flaws: Payton’s inaccurate shooting, Simmons’s propensity to overdribble, a general infatuation with tough three-point attempts.

These failings can be papered over, however, when they outscore their foes by a massive 94-66 advantage.

Vucevic (+12 box plus/minus) and Gordon (game-high +15 BPM) in particular had tremendous games, combining for 46 points and 31 rebounds. Despite shooting a combined 2 of 11 from three-point territory, their utter dominance in the paint allowed them to dictate the pace and tone of this game.

Evan Fournier (+8 BPM) also had a huge night, scoring a game-high 27 points on 12 of 21 shooting. He waltzed down the lane on numerous occasions for easy, stylish layups – something the Hawks really shouldn’t be allowing with any regularity.

Despite a tough night, the Hawks had a few standout performers and some impressive plays.

Dennis Schröder, as usual, had a team-high in points with 26, but it took him an immense 26 field goal attempts (10 of 26) to score those points. Dennis seemed a little gassed in this game, especially in the 2^nd half as he was missing wide-open layups and easy two-point looks – plays that he has feasted on all year long.

Elsewhere among the starters Taurean Prince had a big game and seemed to relish the chance to play more minutes. The Pump-Fake Prince finished with 19 points on a hyper-efficient 6 of 8 shooting, including 3 of 5 from downtown. Taurean seemed much more measured in his drives and wasn’t just throwing his body at defenders.

Off the bench, Marco Belinelli had a game-high and team-high +15 box plus/minus, though that’s not necessarily because of his great play. He finished with 12 points on 4 of 12 shooting (2 of 7 from three), but just seemed to be on the floor when the Hawks were playing better.

Belinelli also shockingly finished a one-handed dunk in transition after a DeAndre’ Bembry steal – definitely his first dunk of the season (watch out John Collins!)

Speaking of Bembry, he really affected the game on defense when he debuted midway through the 1^st quarter as his quick feet and ability to fight through screens is almost peerless on a Hawks team that is thoroughly lacking good defenders.

Backup point guard Isaiah Taylor, while slight in stature, has a Chris Paul-esque body that makes him quite difficult to push around at his size on defense, and he knows how to use that size to his advantage. Taylor’s defense was very good in this game, and he even notched a nifty block from behind on the towering Vucevic, who is a good 9 inches taller than Taylor.

The story off the bench for the Hawks in this game (surprisingly for the second time this season) was Tyler Cavanaugh. He finished with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting (2 of 4 from downtown) and at various points was finishing and-1 layups, drilling open threes, drawing charges and fighting through thickets of Magic defenders to grab 6 tenacious rebounds (including 3 offensive boards).

As an unheralded 23-year-old rookie, Cavanaugh was not expected to make a big splash with the Hawks this season, but because of the rash of injuries in the frontcourt, Cavanaugh is playing critical minutes late in games for Atlanta, and, for the most part, he has not shied away from these pressure-packed situations.

Cavanaugh has been a nice surprise for the Hawks, who are looking for all the good news they can summon during this rebuilding year.

The Hawks once again face the Magic at home on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Next: Hawks Take Control Late Against Magic