Soaring Down South
Fansided

The Atlanta Hawks lost to the Toronto Raptors in less than three minutes

ByJoshua Buckhalter|
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 05: Bogdan Bogdanovic #13 of the Atlanta Hawks tries to grab a loose ball in the key during the second half of their NBA game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on April 5, 2022 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 05: Bogdan Bogdanovic #13 of the Atlanta Hawks tries to grab a loose ball in the key during the second half of their NBA game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on April 5, 2022 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Hawks (41-38) suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Toronto Raptors but it wasn’t because Pascal Siakam went off. They are now sitting in the nine-spot in the Eastern Conference after the Brooklyn Nets took out the Houston Rockets to re-take eighth. Now, the Hawks will need some help to try and secure extra bites at the Play-In Tournament apple.

As it stands, they would host the Charlotte Hornets in a one-game, winner-take-all type of situation for the right to face the winner of the matchup between the seventh and eighth seeds, currently the Cleveland Cavaliers and Nets, respectively.

With just three games left now, time is running out fast to make more headway.

Still, we cannot miss the forest for the trees and the loss to Toronto was bad in a vacuum. Just not (totally) because of Siakam.

A late momentum shift sent the Atlanta Hawks into a tailspin versus the Raptors

Siakam finished the evening with a game-high 31 points on 50 percent shooting with 13 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block. It was a stat-stuffing demonstration that reminded many of why the Hawks need John Collins who has been out for the last 13 games dealing with finger and foot injuries.

The Raptors 60 rebounds set a new season-high for a Hawks opponent and helped lead to a 62-42 advantage in the paint. And yet, the Hawks managed to pull even and even took a 103-102 lead with just under three minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

That is when everything went off the rails as the Hawks were outscored by the Raptors 16-5 the rest of the way.

In that stretch, Atlanta had four straight misses on three empty trips down the floor.

Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a pair, including a three-pointer where Siakam could have been called for not allowing him to land. De’Andre Hunter – who had his hands full with the Raptors versatile forward – missed a driving layup, and Trae Young missed a three as well, though, he did finish with a team-high 26 points.

The trying stretch ended with Bogdanovic committing a foul on Siakam who hit a pair of free throws to put Toronto up by seven points. Atlanta cut the deficit down to four points at 112-108 ut got outscored 6-0 on free throws as time ran out.

Less than three minutes was all that it took for the Hawks to go from a shot at the sixth seed to being locked into the Play-In Tournament with very limited control over their final seeding.

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