Atlanta Hawks: Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown of Loss to Warriors

Third Quarter Reaction

The third quarter started off somewhat positively for the Atlanta Hawks. Both Collins and Young had success attacking the rim. Collins, at this juncture in the season, is the best player on the team and was recently rewarded for that by being named as the team’s Quarter-Season MVP.

However, Young and other players struggled to set Collins up with the ball in the correct locations. Sometimes he would receive the ball way out of the post, which made it hard for him to back down the defender, forcing him to go to his hook shot or a tough fadeaway.

Taurean Prince hit the Hawks second three of the game with 7:38 to play in the third quarter. Prince finished the game with a quiet 14 points off of 5 of 10 shooting. In order for the Hawks to improve he has to be more aggressive.

On the other hand, rookie Kevin Huerter played a solid game. The Maryland product finished with 10 points 5 rebounds and 4 assists. The numbers may not jump out at you, but he impacts the game with his hustle and IQ plays.

Huerter has the ability to make the right play at the right time. He constantly moves around and creates easy scoring opportunities for himself (that sounds a lot like Klay Thompson… Warriors East, anyone?).

Similar to the first and second quarter the Hawks struggled to score easy points. When the ball moved in tonight’s game they were able to put some runs together to climb back into the game.

Needless to say, the team strayed away from ball movement and started hoisting up three’s. Not to mention the Warriors did make it hard for the Hawks with their length on defense.

Golden State is a prime example of what happens when the ball moves from side to side. Even with three superstars in the starting lineup they sacrifice and play for each other. Throughout the game, the Warriors played through Durant and Curry.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Jeremy Lin would record two steals, which led to fast break opportunities. Lin found some success attacking the rim as the Hawks battled back from a double-digit lead.