Atlanta Hawks: Rapid Reactions to Rough Spurs Loss

Patty Mills against Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
Patty Mills against Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)

A quick recap of an Atlanta Hawks loss to the San Antonio Spurs at home.

The Atlanta Hawks were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs by a final margin of 111 to 104. This game was fairly close throughout, but some clutch plays from Derrick White in the 4th quarter spelled doom for the Hawks, as did a poor shooting night for the team.

The Hawks ended up shooting an ugly 39.1 percent from the field and 30.2 percent (13 of 43) from downtown on the evening, and the good guys were not aided in any way by a fairly inconsistent whistle.

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The referees were on a warpath once again against the Hawks, and this time, it was Taurean Prince who was given the heave-ho by a referee. It was a shame, too, as Prince looked great after returning to action after the birth of his second child. Prince was a +4 in 19 minutes and had 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.

He piped up against referee Scott Foster in the 3rd quarter, which ended his night.

Another big culprit for tonight’s defeat was the subpar performance of rookies Trae Young and Kevin Huerter. The two combined for an underwhelming 10 of 34 shooting from the field, including 2 of 13 from long range.

It’s rare that both players have an off night, but the stifling (often illegal) defense by the Spurs was too much for both players to handle. Though Trae managed to score 22 points, it took him a whopping 24 shots to accrue that total, and he notched more rebounds (6) than he did assists (4).

For a young team, these games will occur, but from what we’ve seen so far, the learning curve for our young guns is fairly swift. Also, in more positive news John Collins returned to the team and logged his typical double-double: 18 points, 10 rebounds.

The Atlanta Hawks return to action on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST against the Brooklyn Nets.