Atlanta Hawks: 3 takeaways in second straight loss to the Hornets on historic night

Atlanta Hawks takeaway No. 2) Late quarter runs hurt the team

This Hawks team, when they are fully healthy, is going to be very good. They are going to have some veterans who are going to play at the end of the second and third periods and hopefully they are going to stop the worrying trend of going down big at the end of quarters.

In the second period tonight, the scores were locked up at 42 apiece with 5:07 left in the quarter. The Hornets then went on a 19-8 run to end the half with a nine-point lead 50-59. This is a huge momentum shift and you go into the changeroom knowing you are going to have to play catch-up basketball.

The Hawks did play catch-up ball, however, the closest they came to the Hornets in the third period was 69-72 with 4:42 left to play. The Hornets then went on a 15-7 run meaning the Hawks had to start the fourth period down by 11 points 76-87.

Again this would be too great of a gap to make up for the Hawks as they ended up losing 105-113. The Hawks started the season being the best first-quarter team so these runs were not as big of an issue. However, in the four-game skid, the Hawks have not been as dominant in the first and it is hurting them later in games.