Atlanta Hawks: Rapid Reactions to 127-119 loss to Clippers
It all came crashing down in the fourth when Montrezl Harrell decided to perform his best Shaq impression. The former Louisville Cardinal was phenomenal all night, but turned it up in the final period and ended with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
He was complemented nicely by Tobias Harris, who added 24 points, and “Sweet” Lou Williams, who recorded 16 points and 11 assists.
Ultimately, the balance of the visiting team is what did the Hawks in.
The Clippers bench outscored the Hawks bench 73-50, with big Boban Marjanovic a huge part of that. The seemingly 11-foot tall center had 12 points in just 10 minutes, all at critical junctures in the game. This entertaining Clips team also made a living from the charity stripe, knocking home 37 free throws in 47 attempts.
If we’re being perfectly honest, this defeat is the perfect result for the Atlanta Hawks. An action-packed contest against a playoff-caliber team in which your cornerstone rookie has one of the best games of his young career in a tight loss, all with an eye on securing better odds for the upcoming summer selection of a certain freshman Blue Devil.
Yeah, blowing a 15-point lead in the second half sucks. But… draft odds!
That’s what we tell ourselves through the sting, at least.
Next. Could the Hawks Trade for Markelle Fultz?. dark
It doesn’t get any easier for the Atlanta Hawks, who now will take on Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors this Wednesday at State Farm Arena.