There was plenty to look at — both good and bad — in the Hawks’ film session on Tuesday, a day after one of the most unusual games in history.
The Hawks fell behind the Timberwolves by 34 points early in the third quarter Monday night. They battled back to take a 107-106 lead with 3:25 to play after a 60-25 run over a span of 18:52. But the points that gave the Hawks their only lead of the game — a Paul Millsap layup — would also be their last. The Timberwolves closed the game on an 11-0 run to escape with a 117-107 victory.
So much bad in the first half. So much good in the second.
“You take both of them, learn from both of them,” Millsap said of the film session. “First half, learn what not to do. Second half, learn how to play. The way we played in that second half is the way we need to play, with the aggression and the defensive intensity.”
Had the Hawks beaten Minnesota, it would have represented the third largest comeback in NBA history. The Jazz erased a 36-point deficit with seconds left in the first half in a home game against the Nuggets on Nov. 27, 1996. The Jazz trailed 70-34 but outscored the Nuggets 73–33 the rest of the game to win 107–103 in the biggest comeback in league history. The Kings faced a 35-point deficit with 8:50 left in the third quarter in a game Bulls Dec. 21, 2009, before they charged back to win 102-98.
Coach Mike Budenholzer said the film session dwelled more on the failings but that he didn’t want to hit his team too hard with the negative.
“We watched some film and tried to figure out how we could be better defensively,” Budenholzer said. “I think there has been some slippage. Same thing offensively. We haven’t had opportunities to practice or do a lot of film work. I think it was a good opportunity to take advantage of it. …
“You try to have the right approach about why is there some slippage, why are there some things that are not exactly the way we want them to be. That doesn’t mean you are OK with it. I think if you don’t have the right approach, you are not going to get to where you want to go.”
The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for the Hawks (7-2), concluding a stint of seven games in 10 days. The Hawks were able to practice Tuesday for the first time since Oct. 28, the day after the season-opener. There is little time to rest. They host the Pelicans on Wednesday.
Millsap admitted there was some fatigue associated with the early troubles against the Timberwolves.
“I hate to use excuses but it has been a tough stretch for us,” Millsap said. “Sometimes you just get tired. You get tired against a team like that and they get their confidence up, they are hard to stop. Eventually, we woke up and decided to play a little bit.”
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with a game-high 33 points, including seven straight in the winning 11-0 run to end the game. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 24 points, nine assists and three blocks. Millsap finished with 22 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Budenholzer said he expected the game to stick with the team for a little longer than usual because of the dramatics. Millsap insisted the game is already in his rear-view mirror.
“None,” Millsap said when asked of his reflections on the thriller a day later. “It’s gone. Last night was last night. You learn from it and move on.”
