The Atlanta Hawks are mired in a skid the likes of which they haven’t experienced under Nate McMillan. Their four-game losing streak is already two games longer than any other such streak in his brief tenure. And, with their 127-113 late-game collapse — the second in as many games — you’d have to extend back into Lloyd Pierce’s time to come up with a similar stretch.
What’s worse is the Haws won 75 percent of this game on a night when they got 28 points and nine assists out of Trae Young, 19 points with six rebounds in from John Collins, and 17 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic.
They even won the free-throw battle for a change.
However, they followed a recent trend in their losses, allowing Steph Curry to have a big, 18-point third quarter on his way to his fourth 50-point night of the season.
The Atlanta Hawks have fallen into the habit of giving up the big third quarter
Atlanta outscored Golden State 93-86 in three of the four quarters. They led, at one point, by 15 points which is the largest deficit the Warriors have faced all season. Unfortunately, there are four quarters to every game.
The Hawks were nearly outscored by Curry alone with just 20 points as a team in the third frame.
It ended up being 41-20 as the Warriors shot 65 percent from the floor and 5-of-9 from three at the same time the Hawks went cold, shooting 37.5 percent overall and 2-of-8 from downtown.
They’ve given up “big” quarters in their losses to the Phoenix Suns Devin Booker (though it was a fourth-quarter meltdown that did them in that game), Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz, and Kevin Durant when they faced the Brooklyn Nets. Durant and Clarkson both scored 15 points in the third quarter of their respective matchups.
After the game, McMillan spoke on the Warriors seizing control in the second half
"They took the momentum and kept it for the second 24 minutes." pic.twitter.com/CWazyL4xyj
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) November 9, 2021
The Hawks entered the night ninth in third-quarter scoring at 28.5 points per game. However, they also came in ranked 21st in opponents’ third-quarter scoring. The Warriors are fourth and first, respectively.
It’s one of many trends we’ve seen from them, adding to their struggles on the road this season. With a re-match against the Utah Jazz on tap for Tuesday, they won’t have much time to dwell.