Atlanta Hawks: Danilo Gallinari shines in return from one-game absence

The Atlanta Hawks (37-37) have gotten another reminder of just how valuable Danilo Gallinari is over the past couple of games. Their 121-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors was key with eyes still on moving up to ninth and hosting the first play-in game. There is even a chance to catch the Brooklyn Nets for eighth if they play their cards right.

Health has been such a big theme in this season. For all of the talk about the Hawks on-court inconsistency, the ability to be on the court might be their most inconsistent trait as a whole.

They haven’t all been key players missing huge chunks of time. This graphic shows the Hawks are just in the bottom half of the league in both quality and quantity of games lost due to injury. It’s due for an update,  but the Hawks have had their fair share to deal with regardless.

That is why having consistent performers like Gallinari is critical to the Hawks success.

The Atlanta Hawks got a big first-half boost from Danilo Gallinari versus the Warriors

Gallinari finished the game with 25 points and, while he was terribly efficient shooting 45.0 percent, he played a huge part in setting the Hawks up for their monster third quarter that saw Trae Young take over and the team play tough defense. That last part is key as the Warriors had Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson go off for 22 points apiece in the first half.

The 14-year vet making his sixth consecutive start in place of the injured John Collins, and his 15th of the season, came out firing with 10 points in the first quarter on 50.0 percent shooting.

In the second quarter, he added another nine points getting four points at the free-throw line. He also added four rebounds and notched his second assist in the frame and finished with five boards and three assists for the night.

While he only tallied six points in the second half, he took just seven shots total. That is half as many attempts as he had in the first half. This was his fifth game with at least 20 points this season is just two points shy of his season-high set less than a week ago.

Gallo is also credited with holding rookie Jonathan Kuminga to two points on 1-of-4 shooting.

Atlanta held Poole in check in the second half with two points on 0-for-9 shooting while Thomson tallied another 15 to finish with a game-high 37 but, most importantly, a loss.

A game after the Hawks got blown out by the bottom-feeding Detroit Pistons by 21 points, they get a much-needed win thanks in large part to Gallinari. Admittedly, it came against a short-handed Warriors team missing Stephen Curry who had 50 points in the first meeting. The Hawks haven’t had Collins but for four games in the last six weeks.

This was still a must-win game to build confidence and momentum heading into the Play-In Tournament.