Atlanta Hawks: Studs and duds from second loss to the 76ers this season
The Atlanta Hawks are going to have more tough losses this season, as will every NBA team. Heck, at one point, they had six of them in a row. But it still stings a little more to have losses like their 98-96 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers; their second loss to the Ben Simmons-less squad this season.
It is also just their third loss at home in State Farm Arena as well.
That Atlanta led Philly by seven points entering the fourth quarter and stretched it to 10 points early in the period, yet still lost is the frustrating part. The 76ers went on a 16-6 run to knot it up with 2:30 to go.
The Hawks finished with a Trae Young missed three, a Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot missed three, a missed Young jumper, a John Collins turnover, and a missed Danilo Gallinari three.
Young led the team with 25 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds. But he also shot just over 36 percent from the floor, had four turnovers, and committed five fouls. The fiery point guard also drew another technical foul, his fifth this season. That is tied with six others, including Kyle Lowry and Karl Anthony-Town, for second-most in the NBA.
During that fateful fourth quarter that saw the Hawks score nine points in the entire frame, it was virtually only Young who could make more than one basket, going 2-for-5 from the floor while the rest of the team went 1-for-15.
The Atlanta Hawks will have to regroup following their narrow loss to the 76ers
The 76ers were missing Tobias Harris who had 22 points in the previous matchup. His absence freed John Collins up to have 18 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal,
However, 12 of those points came in the third quarter alone.
Collins took just four shots outside of that quarter, all coming in the first half. He also did not have an attempt from the field in the first quarter, bookending this game with no shots. His versatility is his saving grace, however, because he came away with the second-best defensive field goal percentage among Hawks starters.
The best was Clint Capela, who had just six points but did grab 11 boards and held Joel Embiid below his in-game shooting average.