Atlanta Hawks shooters stay hot in dominant Game 4 win
The Atlanta Hawks took Game 4 in a surprise turn of events in the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s because they were without superstar point guard Trae Young who was out with a bone bruise suffered in Game 3. Atlanta shot 50 percent from the floor as a team, had six players with double-digit points, four of whom had 15 plus, and two with at least 20.
This game, though, was about the Hawks shooters maintaining the rhythm they established in Game 3 before Young went down.
The Atlanta Hawks got hot from three in a critical Game 4 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks
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They got out to another fast start offensively but used a big third quarter in which they went 7-for-11 from outside and outscored the Bucks 36 to 24. The Hawks had already outscored them by 10 points in the second quarter.
Cam Reddish put on one of the best two-way performances the Hawks have had all postseason.
A potential disaster struck the Milwaukee Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a hyperextended knee as they made a push in the third. His availability for Game 5 is uncertain.
It was all Hawks well before that though.
Lou Williams made his first career start in the playoffs in place of Young and gave the Bucks buckets.
https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1410051846161330180
It was easily his best game of the postseason as he went 7-for-9 from the floor and hit two of his three triples for a game-high 21 points. Williams was just 2-of-3 from downtown but he had only hit multiple threes in one game this postseason.
It was just what Atlanta needed without the threat of Young’s range.
“We don’t need people in transition, pulling up from the logo…the way Trae can,” said Kevin Huerter via Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, adding that it wasn’t, “anyone’s game”.
Still, Bogdan Bogdanovic canned 6-of-14 threes, going 4-for-5 from deep in that third-quarter explosion. He now ranks fifth in total threes made this postseason and has been looking healthier after battling knee soreness over the last six games. Bogdanovic also had five assists along with another four steals.
But it was the deep-ball that had been missing for him, and the Hawks, here in the playoffs.
He’d shot 29.6 percent in the playoffs coming into Game 4 after shooting a career-high 43.8 percent in the regular season.
The duo did their damage from beyond the arc on a night when Kevin Huerter, who’s been the Hawks most reliable shooter in the playoffs, and John Collins went just 1-for-10 combined from outside. Huerter did manage to go 6-of-8 on non-threes, had seven assists, and six rebounds.
The only knock is they shot just 6-of-27 from three outside of that explosive third frame.
Aside from their shooting, Bogdanovic, Huerter, and Williams combining for 17 assists is nothing to sneeze at. The Hawks had been prone to quick, one-and-done offensive possessions in Games 2 and 3.
Without Young on the floor, a situation in which Atlanta’s net efficiency falls from -.2 to -6.7, Milwaukee was unable to key in on any one Hawks player to pressure the ball.
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They couldn’t have racked up those assists, though, if they weren’t hitting shots, something they’ve gotten back to doing in their last two games. Hopefully, it continues through the rest of the postseason.