Atlanta Hawks: John Collins had a block party versus the Thunder

The Atlanta Hawks completed the sweep of their five-game homestand with a convincing 113-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. It brings them to within one game of tying their losing skid that immediately preceded this run. They also brought their season record back to .500 at 9-9; no small task after how things were going.

During their slide, the Hawks ranked 19th in points per game and 29th on opponent points per game. They are first and 14th, respectively, over their stay at State Farm Arena, all of which have come without De’Andre Hunter.

That they didn’t fall victim to the ever-dreaded trap game might be the most encouraging takeaway.

The Atlanta Hawks got big nights from their top guys and delivered a perfect homestand

Facing a Thunder team that now ranks 11th in the West and had lost 4-of-5 coming in, it would have been easy for the Hawks to take the Thunder lightly. The visitors were missing their best player, guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, after all. And their next leading scorer, Luguentz Dort, is known more for his lock-down defense than his scoring ability.

Atlanta also has games against the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies sandwiched around Thanksgiving.

The Hawks only trailed once, briefly falling behind 15-13 with 6:14 to go in the first quarter.

Best of all, Trae Young and John Collins led the way on both ends of the floor on a night where every usual rotation player (save for Clint Capela) knocked down a three and they held the Thunder to just 11 points on 16 percent shooting in the third quarter.

OKC would shoot 26.3 from outside on the night.

They have shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc as a team for the third time on the homestand.

"“We knew what we wanted to do and accomplish, coming on this home stretch. After what we did on the road, we knew we needed to take care of business.” – Trae Young via Sarah K. Spencer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution"

Young had 30 points and went 5-of-9 from three with six assists, four rebounds, and a steal. The superstar point guard scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half including 12 in that outstanding third frame. He also got to the line, canning all seven of his free throws. Best of all, he had just two turnovers.

Collins stat line reads as mostly pedestrian. He had just 11 points and didn’t score in the second half. But he did get four of his six boards in the latter act. The high-flying forward did, however, get three of his five assists and three of his five blocks in the second half.

Capela was no slouch with 10 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double on the homestand, sixth in the last seven games, and 11th overall this season.

There were a couple of things that Nate McMillan can use for the next film session.

First, the Hawks were minus-six on the glass after McMillan had made note of it following their win over the Hornets. They were also outscored by four points if you remove the third quarter. That is not going to happen, obviously. And the Hawks backups played extensively in the fourth quarter.

But, if you’re a head coach of a team that has just won five straight, you have to find all of the coaching points you can to keep the team focused. We, that and show them film of their six-game slide.