The Atlanta Hawks took care of business against the Orlando Magic with a 111-99 win on Wednesday to bring their record back to .500 at 14-14. “Took care of business” is about as far as one might feel comfortable in being complimentary on the performance. After all, the Magic have the second-worst record in the NBA.
However, we just saw the Hawks blow a sizeable lead at home to a Houston Rockets team just two nights prior.
In reality, this was a necessary first step in getting their season back on track: beating the teams they are supposed to beat. As Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk noted, losses like the one to Houston aren’t what good teams do.
For the sake of argument, Atlanta was outscored (again) in the fourth quarter 26-18.
Can the Atlanta Hawks use their win over the Orlando Magic as a springboard?
Trae Young had 28 points, four assists, and four rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor. But he was 1-for-8 from beyond the arc for his worst three-point shooting night in nearly a month when he was 0-for-6 against the Boston Celtics. However, he also had a season-low one turnover for the entire game.
Each of Clint Capela, Kevin Huerter, and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had seven points. Capela also had 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal. Huerter had five assists, three boards, a steal, a block but was 0-for-4 from deep.
All three would have needed to score more against a more competitive opponent.
Fortunately, the Hawks were able to hold the Magic to 25 percent shooting in the third quarter and 26.6 percent from distance through three quarters.