The Atlanta Hawks were in Portland on Thursday night to face the Trail Blazers. Coming off a loss against the Los Angeles Lakers where they were down as much as 30 and cut down their deficit to 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Hawks were looking to bounce back against a team who was without their best player in this matchup, Deni Avdija.
The Hawks were once again without Zaccharie Risacher and Kristaps Porzingis.
Nonetheless, there was a game that had to be played.
The Hawks got on the board with
some crisp ball movement from Vit Krejci and Onyeka Okongwu.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker helped the Hawks turn defense into offense, and Dyson Daniels was able to get the easy flush on the other end.
The Hawks trailed for most of the quarter, but they stayed within striking distance. After a rough game against the Lakers, Jalen Johnson tried to get into a rhythm early.
Corey Kispert tried to keep the Hawks in it with this three-pointer in transition.
The Trail Blazers were able to get three free throws at the end of the quarter after they called Mouhamed Gueye for a questionable foul, and the Hawks went into the second trailing 33-25.
CJ McCollum got the scoring started for the Hawks in the second with this tough bucket.
Alexander-Walker found a heater in the corner, and he knocked it down.
The Hawks didn’t have much of a problem scoring, but it was on the defensive side where things were inconsistent. Also, the foul discrepancy was big in the first half, and the Hawks were barely getting any calls. Nonetheless, the Hawks kept fighting, and Johnson got to his bread and butter.
The Hawks fought to the point to where they were able to get the lead for the first time in the first half.
More fouls continued to pile up later in the half, and Johnson picked up his third after a charge in transition.
Going into halftime, the Hawks were able to stay steady and led 56-54.
The Hawks maintained the lead through the third quarter, and they were getting the shots that they wanted. When Daniels gets in the paint, good things tend to happen.
McCollum looked like he played years on the Trail Blazers court the way he was moving to get this bucket.
Mouhamed Gueye showed his intensity in the third quarter, and got this three-pointer to go.
The Trail Blazers made a run late in the quarter and took the lead, but the Hawks were able to answer back and take back the lead. A buzzer beater three gave the Trail Blazers the lead going into the fourth, as the Hawks trailed 88-87.
The Trail Blazers could not miss going into the fourth, and they built a 14-point lead while the Hawks struggled to get anything going. The Hawks were able to cut the deficit down to seven points at one point, but the Trail Blazers kept making extra plays to keep their lead.
Down the stretch, the Hawks didn’t have it on offense, and it was hard for a shot to go in to get out of the slump, ultimately resulting in a loss.
Okongwu finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, and two assists, McCollum finished with 20 points, and Johnson finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
The Hawks will be back in action on Saturday against the Boston Celtics.
