Filling out the Atlanta Hawks’ report card for their win against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Atlanta Hawks won their 17th game of the season and their second straight overall Saturday night, defeating the Mavericks 111-107. It was a comeback victory for the young Hawks, who trailed by 10-12 points for most of the game, and began the fourth quarter down nine.
Trae Young was doubled or tripled for most of the game, and failed to do much offensively in the first half. John Collins and Cam Reddish picked up the slack to keep the Hawks in the game.
It wasn’t until the fourth that the Hawks’ All-Star guard got going, knocking down threes and raising his assist total up by setting up his supporting cast.
There was a bit of a controversial ending that worked in the Hawks favor, with a called goaltend being turned into a block, but a John Collins putback that came right after the block was called as good, giving the Hawks a four point lead regardless.
That score by Collins not only iced the game for Atlanta, but tied his career high of 35 points. He was fantastic all night, above the rim and on the boards. The Hawks’ defense showed up when they needed to for the 2nd straight game, and nearly allowed just as many points in the 2nd half (41) total as they did in all of the 1st quarter (35).
The win and comeback are especially impressive given the Hawks’ inability to hit threes all night. They shot 1-11 in the 1st period, setting up a 8-37 night overall. The eight makes tie their lowest made in a win all season.
Atlanta moved their record to 17-41 while dropping the Mavs’ to 34-23 who continue to hold onto the West’s 7th seed. Next we’ll be taking a look at each of the Hawks individually, handing out grades for their performances last night.
Let’s get grading.