The Atlanta Hawks notched a second consecutive victory on their four-game Western Conference road-trip, toppling the Golden State Warriors 124-111 at Chase Center on Sunday night. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led six Hawks in double-digit scoring — and three Hawks with 20 or more points — with 24 points, Jalen Johnson added 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Kennard poured out 22 points off the bench. For the Warriors, Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 points, and Jimmy Butler III added 30 points.
The Warriors were considered favorites heading into the game and ran out to a 14-4 lead in the opening stages as the Hawks’ offense struggled early on. While they weren’t to know at the time, but this was as almost good as it got for Golden State, as the Hawks reeled off a 7-0 run to bring the game to 14-11 by the first timeout of the game. Both teams went back and forth in the first quarter, as Curry (nine points) and Johnson (10 points) had strong first quarters for their sides.
The Warriors took an eight-point lead in the early stages of the second quarter, but the Hawks, again, responded immediately with an 11-2 run. Another seven points in the quarter for Johnson (17 in the first half), and 10 second quarter points from Alexander-Walker were key to the Hawks’ strong second quarter; Alexander-Walker’s end of the second quarter to not just take the lead but build it up to six by the end of the half (thanks to a CJ McCollum buzzer-beater).
It didn’t take long for the Hawks to take their first double-digit lead, but Golden State quickly pulled this back to two points, providing a response of their own after the Hawks’ run to a double-digit lead. With over five and a half minutes left in the third, the Hawks hold a four-point lead after a Vit Krejci free throw. Kennard — who, prior to the third quarter was listed as questionable to return with a neck strain — found form from three-point range, hitting three straight threes, and it completely flipped the game on its head.
It begins with a turnover from De’Anthony Melton, a good save from McCollum in the corner, and Johnson finds Kennard in the corner for the three:
After a Warriors 24-second shotclock violation turnover, McCollum is again involved as the pick-and-roll with Onyeka Okongwu gets McCollum a favorable switch onto Al Horford, and McCollum attacks the mismatch, collapses the defense, and sprays out to Kennard in the opposite corner for the three:
Another Warriors turnover — this time from the Horford entry pass, deflected by Okongwu — sets the Hawks on their way, with Alexander-Walker finding Kennard back in the corner for another three-pointer, stretching the lead to 11 points and a Golden State timeout:
Unlike the previous instance of the Hawks building a double-digit lead, the Hawks would never look back from this point. The Golden State timeout does nothing to stop the bleeding, and the Hawks ran the lead to 16 points by the end of the third quarter.
A pair of threes from Okongwu and Kennard — his fifth, and then sixth of the game — to begin the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 25 and essentially finishes the Warriors there and then. While the hosts did make a run to cut the lead to 13 points, the gap had simply ballooned too high for the Warriors to mount a full comeback, and with 3:16 remaining the Warriors wave the white-flag and bring out the subs.
The Hawk, now winners of three straight games, have begun this four-game Western Conference trip 2-0, and have great potential to either sweep the trip or emerge 3-1 out of it — a huge bonus for them at this time of the season with everything that has recently surrounded the team.
For the game itself, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was asked by Lauren Williams of the AJC about limiting the Warriors NBA-leading (prior to last night’s game; now overtaken by the Celtics) — 15.9 three-pointers a game — to just 10 three-pointers, and a percentage of just 23.9% (10-of-42). Snyder was pleased with how hard his side worked to help limit the Warriors’ threes but essentially admitted that the Hawks were lucky to catch the Warriors on what Snyder described as an off night shooting the ball for the Warriors.
“We worked hard and tried to get in a situation where we could contest,” said Snyder postgame. “I’m happy it was only 10 (threes made), but sometimes we shot the heck out of the ball and they had looks that they didn’t make that they typically make. I think you can be pleased about a result but also realistic about catching a team that doesn’t have a great shooting night. That said, I think we did work. We tried to make it hard and, hopefully, that had some impact.”
Steph Curry is obviously the fulcrum behind any three-point shooting success for Golden State, and he shot an uncharacteristic 3-of-11 from three (some of these misses came in the fourth with the Warriors down 20 points, so, had a hint of desperation about them). The Hawks threw many different bodies at various times on Curry; it started with Vit Krejci (starting once again for the injured Zaccharie Risacher, absent with a left knee inflammation), then Alexander-Walker, Kennard (who did well face-guarding Curry), and Dyson Daniels among those who had turns guarding/monitoring Curry.
While this first clip we’re going to see is a make from Curry, the opening frame — Alexander-Walker basically glued to Curry before Curry’s famous off-ball movement gives him the inch he requires — I think tells the story of how the Hawks wanted to guard Curry in this game:
Curry took a number of deep and contested threes, and threes where I can only presume he was searching for a call, such as this three as he operates behind the screen with Daniels right there, before getting another opportunity for three on the offensive rebound; contested by Mo Gueye:
They are all shots that, if taken by almost anybody else, you’d call bad shots, but when it’s Curry anything is possible. The Hawks, to their credit, contested Curry well on the perimeter, in this case, Alexander-Walker gets a good contest up:
The majority of Curry’s 31 points came from inside the arc, and Curry did really well to get to 31 points with how the Hawks guarded him; face-guarding him. Curry took advantage where he could, as pressure this tight to him requires only a momentary lapse — or off-ball jink — to escape and score.
The quick movement off the ball here allows Curry an escape from Daniels, and he finishes at the rim on the catch:
Again, it takes just a quick move when Curry is guarded this tightly, and the Warriors are quick to find him when he does:
In both of those clips, you can see how Curry shields himself from any defender behind by using his body as he finishes, it’s really impressive.
However, Curry didn’t always wriggle free on these movements, and the Hawks did a great job staying connected to him. Kennard does so on this possession, forcing the Warriors to look elsewhere for offense. While they manage to score on this possession, offense outside of Curry and Butler was just not something the Warriors could rely upon, making plays like this few and far between (only one other Warrior scored in double-digits last night):
This next possession gives a good insight as to the physical pressure Daniels showed Curry off the ball, and good work from Gueye too to pick up for Daniels as Curry tries to cut to the rim, the Warriors trying to use Gui Santos to find Curry on the cut, forcing instead to find Horford for a missed three:
Curry also made some really tough floaters at times in this game; the Hawks defended him well on these but shots like this are difficult to stop:
While Curry scored a game-high 31 points on 52% shooting from the field, the Hawks did a good job defensively on Curry to limit it to just 31 points. This could have easily been a game where Curry pours out 40+ had some of those threes gone down. It was certainly a group effort when it came to limiting Curry, and Snyder believed that everyone who was on the floor worked defensively, starting with Alexander-Walker and Daniels at the point of attack.
“Seeing Nickeil and Dyson working as hard as they do, you almost feel like you don’t want to let somebody down,” said Snyder of the point of attack defense. “We’ve seen those guys do that. JJ was a little off Butler on one possession and then, bam, he got up into his man which says something to me. Whether it’s Luke, Vit, Corey, all of those guys — CJ — everybody that was out guarding on the floor really worked; I think our big guys did too. If we can do that, and do it without fouling, that disruption, hopefully, allows us to run too.”
Snyder mentioned both CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert in his answer and provides a decent segue into this next topic: the debuts of McCollum and Kispert with the Atlanta Hawks. In short, it was a game in which neither player played to their potential. McCollum scored 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting and 0-of-4 from three (shooting 38% for the season) in 24 minutes, while Kispert scored two points on 0-of-4 shooting from the field, 0-of-3 from three (where Kispert is a 38% shooter this season) in 13 minutes.
Both players are obviously learning a new system of offense, defense, and probably just about everything else compared to a Wizards team where both players, shall we say, enjoyed more freedoms (no pun intended) allowed on both ends of the ball.
Kispert discussed the various challenges he’s facing as he steps into life beyond the team that drafted him for the first time in his career.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever been traded. I have no idea what to expect, what to do,” said Kispert. “I was discombobulated … I’m just coming off a few injuries, I haven’t played a lot of games in the last month. Getting thrown into the fire like this, I definitely felt out of rhythm and a bit funky but it’s going to take time. Just happy to play and start building chemistry with the guys.”
McCollum’s role will be a critical one for the Hawks coming off the bench, and he’ll have better nights than 5-of-14 from the field in which he will be significantly more effective. For now, Snyder was pleased with his experience and maturity on the court, in addition to his effort defensively.
“I think he settled us,” said Snyder of McCollum. “There’s a level of poise and confidence he has that when you’re on the court — whether it’s your teammates or even your coach — you see him with the ball and you feel confident in what he’s going to do. I thought the end of the half, his ability to create a shot was important. He’s got a great feel for the game. You don’t have to be around him very long to get that sense that he leads by example, and you feel that on the court. I thought at the end of the game, his poise when they started trapping and he got to the rim with an ‘and-1.’ He guarded too.”
Elsewhere, Luke Kennard — now wearing number 4 — enjoyed his best shooting night of the season, scoring a season-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from three coming off the bench. Kennard was instrumental in the second half, particularly in the third quarter stretch where the Hawks ran out to a double-digit lead, and in the fourth to blow open the lead to 25 points. Considering he was questionable during the game due to a neck strain, it was a hugely impressive second half from Kennard.
“He tweaked his neck in the first half and wanted to get out there and play; his aggressiveness is the biggest thing,” said Snyder of Kennard. “He can obviously shoot the ball but how aggressive he was getting up that volume. It’s easier to be aggressive when they’re going in … I think, in part, you make more of them when you are that aggressive. He’s confident, and we’re confident in him.”
In the month of January so far — five games — Kennard is averaging 13 points per game on just under 70% shooting from the field, and 66.7% from three on 4.8 attempts per game. Kennard has been shooting fantastically of late, and while he’s likely not going to remain this hot until the end of the season, this level of shooting and production is exactly among the reasons why Kennard was signed during the off-season. He did a really good job on Curry, I thought, as well, to deny him the ball on the brief stretch he was faced with him.
Looking towards the other leading scorers, Alexander-Walker led the way on both ends of the ball, scoring 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting and taking his shift guarding Curry. Efficient work from Alexander-Walker, who was key at the end of the first half. Speaking of the first half, it’s where 17 of Johnson’s 23 points came. Johnson had the turnaround jumpshot falling for him in this one, and he did well to exploit mismatches in going to this shot, and of course in the open court.
Okongwu played a strong game, scoring 18 points, securing 12 rebounds, and dishing out eight assists — flirting with a triple-double. Okongwu shot 3-of-6 from three, and two big threes — along with Kennard’s — at the start of the fourth helped the Hawks put this game away from the Warriors — Okongwu was good in this spot with this matchup. Dyson Daniels eventually ended up guarding Curry and did a great job, minus the couple of instances where Curry was able to escape off the ball, while scoring 11 points and dishing out nine assists.
Speaking towards the team overall, there were several things the Hawks did really well last night. Prime among them: just seven turnovers committed to 33 assists — a fantastic return from a playmaking perspective and ensures the Hawks remain on-pace to lead the NBA in assists per game (currently at 31 assists per game). The Hawks’ points off of turnovers number was high — 28 points off of turnovers — and while this simultaneously contributes to a high number of fastbreak points, and the Hawks did well in this regard in scoring 23 fastbreak points.
But the Hawks deserve more credit for their points off of turnovers last night: Golden State had 16 turnovers on the night and more than a few were dead-ball turnovers (out-of-bounds passes, illegal screens, a shot clock violation), so the Hawks had to work in half-court scenarios and score to run the points off of turnovers total up to 28 points.
All-in-all, a quality win for the for the Hawks — one which the 13-point final margin doesn’t really do justice — the Hawks were comfortably the better team in the second half. Their third win in a row keeps them in the hunt for an automatic playoff spot, three games adrift of the Philadelphia 76ers for the 5-seed.
The Hawks (20-21) are back in action on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers (23-13) at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers will be on the second night of a back-to-back but playing locally on the road against the Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Until next time!
