Atlanta Hawks: Rapid Reaction to Listless Loss to Magic

A recap of an Atlanta Hawks loss versus the Orlando Magic.

For the third time this season, the Atlanta Hawks lost to the Orlando Magic. This tilt, in particular, seemed like a rather dull and listless affair, as the Hawks seemed to be suffering from the back-to-back blues after they lost to the Boston Celtics yesterday afternoon.

This game was marred by what seemed to be a million Magic free throws, and the Hawks shot poorly from the field (41.8%) and from three-point territory (22.9%). They also committed a whopping 29 fouls, which is especially heinous considering that the Magic only committed 15.

The Magic starters thoroughly outplayed Atlanta’s, with each Magic starter notching at least +6 in on/off rating. As always, noted Hawks killer Nikola Vucevic continued his dominance against the division rival Hawks, and Vooch exploded for 17 points in the first quarter – and continuing to vacuum up boards. His final stat line was eye-popping: 27 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes.

Orlando needs every game they can get down the end of the season, as they are locked in a tight race for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot. As of this writing, the Magic are currently on the outside looking in as they have 2 more losses than the Miami Heat, who have a 33-36 record. The two teams are tied in the win column, however, so this will be an interesting race as the season continues.

For the Atlanta Hawks, many of its players suffered through foul trouble, with the most notable name being John Collins, who fouled out in only 20 minutes after producing 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Trae Young produced yet another 20-point game, though it took him 18 shots to do so. His three-pointer was not falling (0 of 5), but his floater game was flawless, and if you remove his triples, he went 9 of 13 from two-point range. Young also finished with 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Dewayne Dedmon had a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds.

The Atlanta Hawks play next on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets at home. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. EST.