Again.
The Hawks were done in by a buzzer-beater in Orlando.
Nikola Vucevic hit an 18-foot baseline jumper at the horn to send the Magic to a 96-94 victory over the Hawks on Sunday afternoon at Amway Center. It’s becoming far too common for the Hawks to lose in such fashion. They lost to the Magic at the buzzer last season on a shot by Tobias Harris. They dropped a game against the Suns last month when Archie Goodwin hit a 3-pointer with no time left.
“These hurt,” Kent Bazemore said.
The Hawks (30-23) had a three-game win streak overall and a four-game win streak against the Magic snapped. It was just the Magic’s fourth win against the Hawks in the past 21 games.
The Hawks have already surpassed their loss total of 22 for all last season.
The Magic (22-28) had a three-game losing streak snapped and won for the third time in the past 18 games.
The two teams meet again Monday in Atlanta.
Here are the key players and five observations on the game:
Three key players
Nikola Vucevic: The Magic center hit the game-winner over Al Horford to finish with 22 points. He added nine rebounds.
Kent Bazemore: The Hawks forward hit a corner 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining to tie the game at 94-94 after the Hawk trailed by as many as 14. He finished with 23 points and eight rebounds.
Jeff Teague: The Hawks point guard scored a game-high 24, including 14 first-half points, and had five rebounds.
Five observations
1. Missed chances
After finally erasing a 14-point deficit on Bazemore’s 3-pointer, the Hawks had several chances to win the game. Vucevic was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, giving the Hawks the ball. Paul Millsap missed an 18-footer and Horford grabbed the offensive rebound, one of nine in the fourth quarter for the Hawks. The Hawks had the ball and could hold for one shot. But Teague missed a 20-footer with 4.9 seconds left. Millsap got the rebound and slipped while shooting a 5-footer. The Magic’s Evan Fournier got the rebound with 2.2 seconds left to set up the final play.
“No, I wasn’t (fouled),” Millsap said. “I lost my footing on the way down. I thought there was a little less time than that. Getting an offensive rebound, you want to get the last shot. I tried to put it up there. There were two seconds left. I was a little shocked about that.”
2. Early miscues
The Hawks found themselves in the early hole with a series of first-quarter miscues. They trailed by as many as 14 in the opening period with seven turnovers that led to 12 Magic points. They also missed a couple in-close attempts. The Hawks finished with 12 first-half turnovers that led to 14 points. The Hawks were better in the second half by committing just four turnovers. However, they spent the most of the second half fighting back. The Hawks scored the game’s first basket and it was the only time they led.
3. Block party
The Magic entered the game averaging 4.6 blocks per game. They finished with 10 blocks against the Hawks with Aaron Gordon posting a team-high four. The Hawks got into the paint plenty but had chances turned away by the Magic.
4. Bench play
The Hawks did not get enough from their bench in this one. They reserves finished with a combined 12 points on 3-of-18 shooting. One of those three field goals was Thabo Sefolosha’s 53-foot banked shot at the third-quarter buzzer.
5. Confidence
The Hawks also shot the ball poorly early on. They finished shooting 39 percent but were near 30 percent in each of the first three quarters. As they continued to misfire and turn over the ball, the Magic gained confidence. By the third quarter it was clear they did not look like a team that had lost 15 of 17. Letting inferior opponents get early leads or hang around late as been a thorn in the Hawks’ side all season.
