TORONTO -- The Hawks have struggled to close games this season but on Saturday night they held on down the stretch. The Hawks downed the Raptors 114-103 to move one game under .500 at 21-22.
Here are five observations:
1. The Hawks had not won consecutive games since Dec. 19 and when they did it, they accomplished a couple of things. Not only did the Hawks pick up their first wins on consecutive nights but they also never trailed the Raptors.
Before Saturday’s win, the Hawks have shown that they can compete with urgency but they’ve struggled to carry that energy all the way to the final buzzer.
If it’s not trouble with closing out the game, it’s the start and they have to expend plenty of energy to dig themselves out of a hole.
But the Hawks strung together four solid quarters, beginning with holding the Raptors to 9.1% shooting in the first five minutes of the game. They ended up holding the Raptors to 41.4% overall shooting and gave up just seven 3-pointers all while taking pretty good care of the basketball.
“That was one of our plans going in, just to get off to a good start, because they’re a fast-paced team and they get out to good starts in games,” Hawks guard Trae Young said. “And that’s really what gives them momentum and confidence throughout the whole game. So really coming out of the gate and trying to set the tone early, it was a big key for us.”
2. Young, who scored 29, has had shooting woes this season but he has continued to confidently take shots and they’ve fallen in some much-needed moments.
With seven seconds remaining in the third quarter and the Raptors beginning their final push, Young took the ball up court. As he neared the Raptors logo at half court, he picked up speed before switching gears to shake the Raptors’ Precious Achiuwa off him. As the Toronto center moved back in anticipation of Young attacking the basket, the Hawks guard stepped back and knocked down a 3, 30 feet from the basket.
It was Young’s second 3-pointer of the night and 818th of his career. He tied Kyle Korver for third on the franchise’s all-time 3-pointers list.
3. Like Young, Dejounte Murray got going early in the night to help the Hawks establish the tempo on the offensive end. Murray scored 10 points in his first eight minutes of the night as he ripped the Raptors’ defense apart.
Murray made all four shots from the floor, one of which was from distance to help the team get out to a nine-point lead by the end of the first.
With the Hawks’ inconsistent performances this season, questions have risen as to whether Murray and Young can be the backcourt threat they were expected to be. But Saturday’s performance shows that there is hope the two can figure things out.
“Obviously, we’re not starting the way that we want to, but when you go through things like this, (the) up and down season, when you get it together, you can look back at these moments and smile at them,” Murray said. “It’s not always going to be good. So, at the end of the day, you got to figure it out and it starts with me and Trae.
“Obviously we have a team, but just us leading the snake, getting guys involved and making other players better. And, we’re a long way from where we want to go, but it’s gonna take a lot of hard work and like I said, being consistent.”
4. Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu built off of his career-night against the Pacers to pick up a second straight double-double. Knowing that the Hawks would need his aggression on the glass, the 22-year-old brought it again, as the team missed injured starting center Clint Capela.
With each game, Okongwu has gotten stronger, and he competed hard against the size and length that the Raptors’ front court is known for. He had 13 rebounds in 37 minutes along with 10 points.
From Dec. 12 to Jan. 12 before Okongwu’s recent surge, the Hawks ranked last in the league in opponent defensive rebounding, with their competitors grabbing 35.8 per game. They also allowed their opponents to grab the seventh-most offensive rebounds in that stretch.
But Okongwu has stepped up, helping the Hawks to limit their opponents to an average of 47 total rebounds over the last two games.
The Hawks don’t have a timeline for when Capela could return to the rotation. So until then, the Hawks will continue to look to Okongwu and the rest of the team to be aggressive with crashing the boards.
5. The bench unit may have missed the presence of veteran sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was out due to left quad soreness, but it sustained the team’s offensive presence. Both rookie AJ Griffin and sophomore Jalen Johnson gave the Hawks plenty of power to withstand the pressure the Raptors gave.
As the Raptors ramped up the intensity toward the end of the third, Young found Griffin for back-to-back 3-pointers. Griffin had not missed a shot in his first 15 minutes of play. He ended the night 3-of-5 from distance, the first time since Dec. 30 that he has knocked down three or more triples.
With Griffin giving a boost from long distance, Johnson gave the Hawks some power and athleticism on the inside. He went 3-of-6 overall and drew contact on his drive to the basket.
The 21-year-old has found a little more consistency in his last 10 games, averaging 8.3 points on 59.6% shooting.
Stat to know
270 -- De’Andre Hunter broke a tie with Josh Smith for 18th on the Hawks’ all-time 3-pointers list with his first of the game. Hunter knocked down three shots from distance on Saturday and now has 270.
Quotable
“This is probably our best road trip. I know it’s only two games, but to go into Indiana, and win there and then, Toronto is always a tough place to play on a back-to-back and (to) win here with Toronto being a game behind us. We talked about the importance of the tiebreaker in this game, and our guys came out ready to play and they played a solid 48 minutes.” -- Nate McMillan on what back-to-back road wins does for the team.
Up next
The Hawks host the Heat on Monday in their annual MLK Day game at State Farm Arena.
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