Atlanta Hawks: Knee-Jerk Reactions to Disheartening 106-91 Loss to Knicks

The Atlanta Hawks lose in disappointing fashion to the visiting New York Knicks by a final score of 106-91.

Atlanta Hawks broadcaster Bob Rathbun warned before the game for the home team to “not look ahead to Cancun,” referencing the upcoming All Star Break this weekend. The Atlanta Hawks didn’t listen.

This one’s in contention for worst loss of the season. Coming into tonight, the New York Knicks had lost EIGHTEEN STRAIGHT and were playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Nonetheless, it was them who had more energy and spunk, and it was them who controlled this game nearly the entire way.

It started off as terribly as it possibly could have. The Hawks went 0-for-10 from behind the arc and 6-of-29 from the field en route to a first quarter point total of 13. They only turned it over twice, but they could have built an Alpharetta subdivision with all the bricks they were putting up.

Your hopeful scribe thought things were looking up, that the boys in red had woken up once they began the second quarter on a tear, at one point tying it up 47-47, but that proved to be a flash in the pan.

The Atlanta Hawks scored more points in the second period (38) than they did in the first and third frames combined (35). Yikes.

Can one chalk it up to guys looking ahead to their vacations? Were both Trae Young and John Collins already in Charlotte? Whatever it was, the team came out flat, perked up, then went back to no-heartbeat.

The Knicks were most definitely motivated to end their franchise-record losing streak, but this is still a game the Hawks should have won (tanking race notwithstanding).

Tonight’s the final time we see New York. The season series ends 3-1 in their favor.

The inconsistency is quite frustrating–coming off a morale-boosting win over LeBron and the Lakers on Tuesday, the young Hawks come out and lay a dud.

In the post-game press conference, coach Lloyd Pierce repeatedly referred to that LeWin as an “emotional high” that his squad did not respond well to at all.

Box Score Quick Hits

• Dennis Smith Jr. (NYK) went for 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He’s been a different man since being traded from Dallas.
• Trae Young ended his night with a nice stat line, recording 16 points and 11 assists

• John Collins sent Noah Vonleh to the Underworld

• Dewayne Dedmon had one of the few excellent nights for the Hawks, knocking down four triples en route to 21 points in 26 minutes
• Kent Bazemore posted 16 points and 6 rebounds

It’s on to All-Star Weekend, where Trae will compete in the Skills Challenge and John will vie for the title in the Slam Dunk Contest.