The Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks, 112-99. Dejounte Murray cooked with his best game as a Hawk, scoring 36 points on 51% shooting. The Hawks were down by 20-plus points in the second quarter. It got even worse, as Young missed parts of this game with an injury.
In the first quarter, the Hawks were not able to keep up pace with the Knicks, as they went down by 11 points. Things got worse when New York went up by 20 points with eight minutes left in the second. Murray decided to cook and the Hawks were only down by 8 at the half.
Despite losing Young in the third quarter, the Hawks exploded for points behind Murray and co. They had a 14-point lead in the fourth and they never really looked back, as they were up 18 with five minutes to go.
Dejounte Murray had an excellent game in Atlanta Hawks’ victory
Murray shot very well from three, going for 41%. His 36 points were a career-high, for the all-star with his previous career-high being 33 points. Murray was also stellar defensively, as he had six steals on the night. With Young out for parts of this game, this was the Murray show, and Hawks fans certainly enjoyed it.
With Young out, Murray led the comeback for Atlanta. He made plays on defense and created a show on offense. This was a great game by Murray. Deandre Hunter was able to supply offense as well, going for 21 points on 42% shooting. While Trae Young was out for parts of this game, this is the type of game that should make Hawks fans excited for the rest of the season.
The bench struggled once again
The Bench struggled once again, only having a total of 18 points combined. This team needs Bogdan Bogdanovic back badly. The good news is that he seems to be making progress in his recovery from the injury.
The bad news is that there is no direct timetable for his return from his right knee surgery. According to reports, it is on a “game-to-game” basis. But eight games into the season, it seems like it’s not. It seems like with him out, the scoring will have to come more from the starting lineup.
Even when he does come back, don’t expect him to carry the load. While he is a great six-man, he is not an all-star by any means. This bench is struggling offensively, and help may be on the way but internally things will have to improve.
What can Hawks fans take away from this game?
I was really worried when the Hawks went down 20-plus in the second quarter. It seemed like the Hawks were heading toward their third straight loss of the season. While it was still very early in the season, the Hawks had only beaten bad teams to this point.
While Hawks fans should still be worried about the bench, and three-point shooting struggles, I think they should relax just a little bit because of this comeback. Tonight proved that Murray can carry this team for a little bit.
The type of production that Murray produces tonight is why the Hawks traded all those picks for him. While I won’t expect him to get 35-plus points every game, I do expect him to carry the team at times. Tonight, he played like the all-star, he was. That is the reason why the Hawks were able to come back.