A quick reaction to what was an exciting Atlanta Hawks victory versus the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Atlanta Hawks played their final unique team on the season, as they have now faced off against each of the other 29 teams in the league.
The New Orleans Pelicans held the honor of being the 29th, and went into State Farm Arena still holding onto some far-fetched playoff hopes. The Atlanta Hawks did their best to put the final nail in the coffin, winning by a score of 128-116.
The win scrapped the Hawks’ current 3-game skid, moving them to a record of 23-45.
One key aspect to Atlanta’s win was the rebound discrepancy, as they out rebounded New Orleans 56-42. This is partially due to Anthony Davis playing just 21 minutes, and was easily the most dominant player for either team during those times.
John Collins pulled down 10 rebounds, which is becoming his norm, and also contributed 23 points and 4 blocks. The latter of which is quite impressive, as the sophomore forward is averaging .4 blocks a game this season.
https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1104898015951609856
Leading the Hawks in scoring was a rookie, but not the one you’d expect. Kevin Huerter had an outstanding 17-point 2nd quarter (part of the Hawks’ 39 point period) and ended up with 27 points in 30 minutes of play. He had hit somewhat of a rookie wall after a great start, and that second quarter shows he’s one of the best heat check players on the team.
On the other end of the rookie spectrum was Trae Young, who has slowly been coming down to earth from his post all-star break tear. He failed to record a field goal until a few minutes into the 4th tonight, crawling to a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. In the last two games combined he’s gone 6/28 from the field. Even with this down game, Young has already cemented his place as the team’s best rookie in franchise history.
For the Hawks to put up nearly 130 points when their best scorer was simply not feeling it is pretty impressive.
"IT IS YOUR DAY, YOUNG MAN." pic.twitter.com/n5o9FzTdOR
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) March 10, 2019
It was a fairly drama-free win overall, which has not been the case with the Hawks of late. It was their first double-digit victory since January 23rd, and just their 5th on the year. The Pelicans, who started off blazing from three settled down sometime during the 2nd period, and couldn’t recover.
Box Score Notes:
- Dewayne Dedmon returned to action after a few games missed. He had a 20 minute restriction, and ended the game with a dominant +26 in on/off rating.
- Trae’s just 3rd game of the 2019 calendar year without a made three.
- Hawks committed just 12 fouls, tying their season low on the year, and 9 turnovers. Finally limited the two biggest downfalls to their season.
Solid team win for the Hawks team who now have two days off before another home game on Wednesday against Memphis.