Atlanta Hawks Nearly Upset Elite Raptors: Rapid Reactions

Rapid reactions to the Atlanta Hawks loss versus the Toronto Raptors in Toronto tonight.

The Atlanta Hawks found themselves north of the border tonight, playing the current 2nd-seeded Raptors for the second time on the year.

After a slow start to the game leading to a early timeout, the Hawks caught fire a couple times in the first 2 quarters, but always crashed back to earth before they could grow the lead too much. Their biggest of the lead of the night was mid-2nd quarter when they lead by 9, bigger than any lead the Raptors had tonight.

The first half was still impressive for the Hawks going up against one of the most talented teams in the league. They led at the break by 1, but morally, it felt like more.

They didn’t have as good as a 3rd quarter, but were able to keep it close, going into the final period down by just 3. They shrunk this small gap even more to open the 4th, and thanks to some great plays by Jeremy Lin and John Collins, re-took the lead briefly.

Speaking of Lin, he did his best to officially return to his ‘Linsanity’ state, in the same place that it reached it peak nearly 7 years ago. More on him later.

The final 5 minutes of the game have to be among the wildest and most exciting the Hawks have played this year. Both teams brought their best defense along with some highlight offensive plays sprinkled in.

Finding themselves up 1 with a minute left, the Atlanta Hawks were in position for one of the biggest upsets of the season. Kawhi Leonard, who was great tonight, missed a 3 before stealing it from Bembry, setting up Serge Ibaka‘s go-ahead dunk.

With just over 17 seconds left on the clock, and his team down one, Lloyd Pierce drew up a full-court play for Trae Young. He drove on the two-time defensive player of the year, who showed exactly why he has those honors to his name.

Raptors win 104-101.

Turnovers were biting both teams throughout the night, and each had over 15 of them halfway into the 3rd quarter. Toronto was able to cool off on this as the night went on however, and the Hawks were not. They committed 26, partly due to Toronto’s stifling defense, which is 2-more than their previous high on the year.

The loss did provide a highlight night for veteran Jeremy Lin, who scored 20 on 8-10 shooting in his first start of the season. Many were wondering how/if Lin and Young would play together when the two were acquired this off season, and they answered that tonight. The rookie had 19 and 4 assists to go along with Lin’s 20 and 8.

If you believe in “quality losses” in college football, then tonight was a good night for the  Atlanta Hawks. They kept pace with a team with the same amount of losses as the Hawks have wins, and even when it looked like the Raptors were going to pull away, they got right back into it.

Box Score Notes:

• DeAndre’ Bembry had an impressive night defensively with 5 steals, but really struggled to score, (5 of 13 shooting) and committed 7 of the team’s 26 turnovers.
• John Collins had another sneaky-great night, and recorded another double-double with 21 and 14. He has to be getting some serious All-Star consideration at this point.
• Tyler Dorsey finally found himself getting major minutes, and made a nifty three in a crucial moment in the 4th.
• 16 lead changes
• Shout out to the Toronto crowd giving Vince Carter the praise he deserved in likely his last game where his career began.

A tough loss, but one that inspires hope while keeping the tank on track. Hawks will turn around and play again tomorrow, in Brooklyn.