The Hawks (6-20) made things interesting in the third quarter but couldn’t take the lead in a 110-100 loss to the Pacers (17-9) Friday at State Farm Arena.
1. The Hawks shot 0-for-13 from 3-point range in the first half and trailed 63-48 at halftime after a sluggish start (with the Pacers bullying their way to 44 points in the paint), but they were able to make things competitive after an excellent third quarter. They shot 61.9% from the field (13-for-21) and made five 3’s, outscoring the Pacers 35-23 in the third, narrowing the deficit to 86-83 after a 3-pointer by Allen Crabbe. After getting down by 18 early in the third, it was an encouraging rally to Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce. “I was just proud of our guys and the way they competed, got back into the game, the effort they showed on the defensive end, we just couldn’t get enough stops. And we couldn’t capitalize on the stops in the fourth quarter. A lot of empty possessions offensively. Tough.” The Hawks ended up making just six 3’s in the game, which ties a season low.
2. In the the fourth quarter, the Hawks reverted to their offensive struggles from the first half, and then some, scoring just 17 points. The Pacers didn’t exactly run away with it, but after coming within three points heading into the fourth, the Hawks weren’t able to take the lead at any point, or even get within four points. Although the Hawks got some open looks, they couldn’t capitalize. “The offense stalled a little bit,” said Kevin Huerter, who was bumped up to a 30-minute restriction and tallied five points, three assists and seven rebounds. “We weren’t really making shots we’re used to making. I think our ball movement stalled a little bit and we’ve just got to fix that and get better at it.”
3. After a quiet two quarters, Trae Young scored 17 of his 23 points (9-for-30 field goals, 3-for-10 from 3-point range) in the second half, with 10 of those coming in the third quarter to catalyze the Hawks’ comeback attempt. Young, who led the team in scoring, has registered at least one 3-pointer in 19 consecutive games, which is a career-high streak.
But Young was hard on himself in his postgame interview, as he couldn’t lead the Hawks to a win and couldn’t get much started in the fourth quarter: “I was able to get my shot off, it was just they weren’t going down tonight. I was getting good looks, I was getting wide open looks, and I was missing. Sometimes it’s like that. ... And tonight I feel like I let my team down because we all fought so hard to get back in the game and for me, trying to be one of the closers, I’ve got to be better. I was getting wide-open looks and missing.” In the Hawks’ prior loss to the Pacers Nov. 29, Young had 49 points in a 105-104 overtime loss.
4. Alex Len continued to come on strong after a slow start to the season. Off the bench, Len registered his third double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds, which is a season-high. Damian Jones added nine points (4-for-4 field goals) and four rebounds, so it was a relatively productive night for the Hawks’ centers. “I thought he was great,” Pierce said of Len. “His activity, we’re playing through him a lot with the offense, and his ability to play with dribble handoffs and get our guys going and then get behind the defense. I thought his activity was great, he and Damian. ... I thought our 5’s gave us a lot tonight.”
5. Up next, the Hawks face a huge test as the Lakers, who dealt the Heat their first home loss of the season Friday, come to town Sunday. The Lakers (23-3) have yet to lose a true road game, and they lead the league in field-goal percentage (48.7%). On their west coast road trip, the Hawks previously lost to the Lakers 122-101 Nov. 17.
By the Numbers
6 (the amount of field goals the Hawks hit in the fourth quarter on 21 attempts)
Quotable
“It’s hard when you fight that hard to get back in the game, to maintain that energy, that momentum, is tough.” (Trae Young on the Hawks losing steam in the fourth)
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