The Hawks have had some trouble finishing games as of late. The team, though, will continue to iron out the kinks to reach the potential the players believe they’re capable of.
The Hawks lost Monday’s game against the Thunder, which ranks 12th in the Western Conference. It was at least the third time this season that the team lost to a club that on paper it was expected to beat.
Through 24 games, the Hawks have put up a 13-11 record and are 7-4 in games they led at halftime.
On Monday, the Hawks led the Thunder by as many as 14, with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter. The Thunder went on a 23-13 run to pull the game within two before the Hawks closed it with a dunk to take a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Thunder won the game 121-114.
The Hawks’ lack of urgency in the second half has hurt them as of late. They are 2-4 in their past six games and have held double-digit leads in each of their past four losses.
“Overall has been, especially in the second half,” Hawks center Clint Capela said after Monday’s game. “I think, like I just said, we have to come with that same urgency. We have to tell ourselves that this is another game starting, and we need to have that because that’s gonna be important.
“(We’re) going to play other teams. We’re going to be in that situation again. And we have to grow from it. So we need (to do it) more consistently, too, because ... like I said, the past few games we were able to do it. But tonight wasn’t the case. So we just put ourselves in a bad situation tonight to win the game.”
Hawks coach Nate McMillan agreed about the importance of this team growing from Monday’s loss. He added that the Hawks have to make sure they do everything to earn their wins.
“These guys have played a lot of basketball, and a lot of games, so you should know that there are two halves to a game, and you got to play a full 48 minutes regardless of who you’re playing, and you can’t, as I call it, ‘eff-off’ possessions because that momentum can change quickly,” he said.
Injury note
Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter could make the trip to New York to face the Knicks and Nets. Hunter missed the past two games with a right hip flexor strain and was expected to miss a minimum of one week.
