Atlanta Hawks: Rapid Reactions to Blowout in Brooklyn

The Atlanta Hawks took on the Brooklyn Nets Sunday afternoon, falling again, this time by a stunning final score of 144-127.

The Atlanta Hawks came in tied with the Suns for the worst record in the league, and continued their quest for a top pick with their third straight loss.

There was little to no defense going on at the Barclays Center, and the Nets got to 100 points with a few minutes remaining in the third  quarter. The Nets scored at least 30 in each quarter, and outside the 43 point 2nd, the Hawks couldn’t keep up. D’Angelo Russell lead the way for Brooklyn with 32.

It is hard to blame to defense too much however, as the Nets were just simply making hard shots and were feeling it from deep for most the game. Brooklyn drained 16 threes, and shot 55% from the field as a whole. Fouls were an issue all day for the Hawks and Kenny Atkinson’s squad took advantage, making 30 of their 33 charity-stripe attempts.

The team effort wasn’t up to snuff, but there was a few highlight individual performances. John Collins put up 29, making 13 of 19 shot attempts and added 8 rebounds and a block. Collins led the team in minutes with 33 and posted a few highlights as well.

Dewayne Dedmon posted a career-high 24 points, going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. His 12 rebounds led the squad. This was easily the best game for the center who has been improving as the season goes along.

Thanks in part to Dedmon’s hot shooting, the Hawks shot just under 50% from deep, making 14 of their 29 shots from long range. Trae Young made just one on the night, which was part of his 13-point day that also produced 10 assists for his 8th double-double.  His playmaking is near-elite level already, which is pretty impressive for a rookie.

Box Score Notes

• Coming off his best game, there was just 4 shots (and 4 points) for Kevin Huerter in 27 minutes today. He’s still inconsistent but has shown flashes of potential.
• Nice “garbage time” performances by Justin Anderson and Jaylen Adams, who combined for 9 points, going 3/3 from deep, in just 2 minutes played to get the margin of loss somewhat more respectable.
• Another high-scoring performance from Bazemore, who had 20. He’s now had three 20-point (or more) outputs since the start of December.

The Atlanta Hawks play next on Tuesday against the Washington Wizards. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. EST.