The Atlanta Hawks (12-12) had a few days to think about what went wrong in their 98-96 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. One glance at the box score and a nine-point fourth-quarter stands out behind their blown lead. So when word broke that they would be facing a Charlotte Hornets team missing three starters, not many would have predicted a 130-127 loss.
Granted, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Cam Reddish are still on the sidelines with the also-injured De’Andre Hunter and Onyeka Okongwu.
Still, the Hawks had their top three players for this one and couldn’t pull it off.
John Collins put up a season-high 31 points and tied his high for the campaign with 12 rebounds. He had four assists and knocked down all five of his free throws. Collins also went 2-of-4 from deep and, after struggling with his longball, has now gone 10-of-19 (52.6%) from beyond the arc over the last five games.
That’s the end of the good news for him from this contest as he came away with the worst defended field goal percentage on the team at 73.3 percent.
Miles Bridges had 20 of his 32 points on 7-of-9 shooting and went 2-for-2 from deep on Collins.
John Collins scored a season-high 31 points.@JCollins20_ | @ReneeMontgomery pic.twitter.com/LqVeLKnMkY
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) December 6, 2021
The Atlanta Hawks are searching for answers on defense right now
It was a surprisingly poor showing given Collins has been one of the best defenders on the team all season. There is something to be said for the way the Hornets were playing him as they were playing small.
Trae Young had 25 points and 15 assists for his 12th double-double of the season and shot 40 percent from outside. But he also had six turnovers and seemed to take umbrage when asked about his late-game shot selection.
The two teams matched scores in the first and third quarters but a 38-31 third-quarter advantage for the Hornets was more than enough by the time the Hawks were able to outscore them in the fourth by four points.