‘It’s embarrassing’: Hawks grounded by Raptors in season opener
On a night where State Farm Arena pulled out the stops, the Hawks on-court performance didn’t quite live up to the show.
Rapper 2 Chainz led the Hawks out before the start of the game and Quavo performed at halftime. But the Hawks struggled to match that energy, falling to the Raptors 138-118 in their season opener.
Quick Stats: Jalen Johnson (22 points), Kristaps Porzingis (20 points) and Trae Young (22 points) combined for 64 of the Hawks’ 118 points.
Turning point
The Hawks cut the deficit to five by the end of the first half. But when they returned after halftime, things quickly went off the rails.
Dyson Daniels picked up his fifth foul within the first 3:42. The Hawks couldn’t get a consistent stop before the Raptors eventually went on an 11-2 run, where they built a 101-85 lead.
The Hawks eventually cracked 100 points with 7:36 to play, off a Porzingis 3-pointer.
Highlight play
On a night where the Hawks had little to celebrate, Johnson reminded the league why he commands attention.
With 8:30 to play in the third quarter, Johnson isolated Raptors forward Scottie Barnes at halfcourt. Johnson blew by Barnes at the top of the key. As Johnson got to the elbow, Barnes grabbed and wrapped the Hawks forward around the elbow and pulled.
Johnson still made the basket, while drawing the foul. He then completed the three-point play to pull the Hawks within 77-73.
What they said
“I don’t think there’s too many positives we can take from tonight. Obviously, the result was what it was, and it’s embarrassing the way we started it. A lot of it comes from the preseason. Obviously, the carryover we didn’t play all five of us, and you could tell by the continuity we had out there, and it wasn’t right, and that’s part of the NBA. The cream always rises to the top.” -- Trae Young on what positives he took away from the season opener.
Up Next
The Hawks head on the road to face the Magic on Friday.
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