There might be some doubt starting to creep in for the Atlanta Hawks faithful following their 132-126 loss at home to the previously struggling Houston Rockets. Now 13-14, they find themselves below .500 for the first time since before beating the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov 22.
They’re just 2-5 in their last seven games and have lost five in a row on their home floor, bringing their record there to 8-6 this season.
Worst of all, they led by as much as 19 points in this contest only to have another fourth-quarter meltdown, this time of the defensive variety. They would see themselves get outscored 44-25 in the final 12 minutes.
After the game, Nate McMillan spoke on not matching the Rockets intensity.
Nate McMillan thought the Hawks didn't match the Rockets' intensity in the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/fOWdxEEkYJ
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) December 14, 2021
The Atlanta Hawks got “outworked” by a bad Rockets team in another brutal 4Q
John Collins had 12 points with five points on 1-of-4 shooting in the fourth quarter while going 3-of-4 at the charity stripe. He also snagged a couple of rebounds but tied Cam Reddish as a team-worst minus-19.
Clint Capela had a rather quiet 12 points but snatched 16 rebounds. He did miss a pair of big free throws down the stretch.
The Hawks struggled to contain veterans D.J. Augustin and Eric Gordon late as the duo combined for 26 points on 80 percent shooting and went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter alone. Gordon finished with 32 points while Augustin had 22 points, 16 of which came in the fourth.
Atlanta Hawks stud after yet another blown lead: Trae Young is playing out of his mind right now
Trae Young finished with 41 points on better than 63 percent shooting and went 5-of-9 from three-point range. He also had nine assists, falling just one short of extending his 25-point, 10-assist streak at five games though he does now rank fourth in the NBA with 27.0 points per game.
20 of his 41 points came in the second half.
The feisty point guard also had seven turnovers, though only two of those came in the second half. He did his part in the fourth quarter especially, shooting 71.4 percent from the floor for 11 points.
Young is averaging 31 points and 10.3 assists over these last seven games, third in the league and less than one point behind Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant in that span.
And, say what you will, but he did some good on defense in this one as well, holding the trio of Gordon, Armoni Brooks, and Garrison Matthews to a combined 3-of-10 shooting. How much of that is actual defense as opposed to just missed shots is almost ancillary coming out of this game.
Over this seven-game span, Young has the same defensive rating as Collins for whatever that is worth. He also has the fifth-best defensive field goal percentage differential on the team this season; second behind Collins among the usual starters.
Young joined his coach after the game in saying the team needs to display a greater sense of urgency in games and, particularly, on the defensive end of the court.
Atlanta Hawks dud after yet another blown lead: Kevin Huerter’s off-night came at a bad time
Kevin Huerter has turned his season around of late, averaging 17.6 points on better than 55 percent shooting from the floor and three over the five games heading into this one. Going back to the start of their seven-game winning streak, Huerter is putting up 13.6 points on 52.7 percent shooting and 47.8 percent from downtown.
He had just five points against Houston and was shut down by a Garrison Matthews who held the 6-foot-7 Huerter to 0-for-3 shooting. Matthews wasn’t alone as he shot 2-for-10 giving him his worst shooting performance since the game before their winning streak.
In Huerter’s defense, literally and figuratively, Matthews was 0-for-2 from the floor. Huerter also had the best defended field goal percentage among Hawks starters.
However, he was a part of the problem in the fourth as well going 1-for-3 from the floor.
Yes, the Hawks needed to get stops in a game that they led by 19 points at one point. Still, a little extra on the offensive end from a player they count on for scoring even when fully healthy wouldn’t hurt either.
Coming off of the string of games he just had, this isn’t as big of a concern on a micro level as it is for the team as finishing games they should win has become a challenge and they are 5-10 against teams that made the playoffs last season. They’ve lost twice to each of the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Utah Jazz.