Atlanta Hawks: Rapid Reaction to 4th Quarter Collapse vs. Wizards
By Chris Guest
A rapid reaction to an Atlanta Hawks defeat at the hands of the Washington Wizards.
The Atlanta Hawks faced off against the Washington Wizards for the third time this season, and for the second time, the Hawks failed to notch a victory against the team from DC.
Though the game was all tied up at 94 with 6:44 left in the contest, the Wizards subsequently went on an immense 20-4 run that completely crushed any hope of an Atlanta Hawks comeback.
These young Hawks looked pretty tired, and coach Lloyd Pierce’s rotations seemed a bit off – especially with Trae Young playing only 27 minutes and scoring only 5 points. He was pulled in the 4th quarter with 5 minutes remaining and did not see any more playing time in this game as the Wizards pulled away thanks to a flurry of three-pointers from Jeff Green and Bradley Beal.
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Beal, who relishes any chance to squash the hopes and dreams of Hawks fans around the world, was in more of a playmaking mood early before he turned it on late to deliver a 24-point, 6-assist, 4-rebound evening in which he notched a game-high +22 on/off rating.
For the most part, Wizards coach Scott Brooks rode his starters, as none of the Wizards starters played less than 36 minutes – and with good reason, as the starter-to-starter comparison between the two teams definitely favors the Wiz.
Jeff Green dropped 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, rookie Thomas Bryant logged 16 points and 15 rebounds and Tomas Satoransky, starting for the rest of the year in place of the injured John Wall, produced a near triple-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in his 36 minutes.
The Hawks seemed pretty tired in this one, and it will only get harder as the slog of an 82-game season continues to weigh heavily on these young players.
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Atlanta plays next on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks at 8:30 p.m. EST.