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Monday night, the Atlanta Hawks opened up their 3 game homestand with another southeast divisional rival with the Orlando Magic. The Hawks were coming off of a 126-105 victory against Lamelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets while the Magic rolled into town after sweeping the series against the Boston Celtics. To say the least, the Hawks had a tall task as the Magic have won six in a row against playoff caliber teams. Prior to the match, both squads had key inactives: Wendell Carter Jr.,Gary Harris, Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, and Jalen Suggs. As for the Hawks they had Clint Capela unavailable however, Dejounte Murray and John Collins were finally able to make their return to the lineup after their 6 & 8 game hiatus.
To note this game was purely an offensive showdown as both squads scored nearly 30 points each quarter and were close to that 40 mark. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering the fact that the last outing in Orlando saw the Magic have an outstanding 50 point quarter. Both teams were shooting at a highly efficient rate: 47.4 % field goal, 35.4% from three (Magic), 51.1% field goal, 37.5% from three for the Hawks.
For most of the game the Hawks were in control with their lead (41:51 minutes) as large as 13 points halfway in the fourth. The Magic made a valiant effort to squander the lead and ultimately, having a lead of their own once again with just four seconds remaining. Despite regaining the lead, the Magic spoiled the perfect opportunity to add to their six game winning streak as Dejounte Murray drew a foul against Paolo Banchero on the baseline with only two seconds left on the clock. After Murray drilled both clutch free throws putting the lead up to 126-125, the Magic gave the ball to their star rookie to get a shot off to potentially win the game but the time had expired resulting in the teams first loss in over two weeks. Interestingly enough the Magic’s rally late in the fourth stemmed from a technical foul that was given to Trae Young.
The Hawks overall, had a collaborative effort in notching this win as multiple players finished with double digits in the scoring column. In their first game back Dejounte Murray had 17 points on 38.9% shooting while John Collins had 12 points on 71.4% shooting. De’Andre Hunter had 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter, AJ Griffin had himself 19 points, and Onyeka Okongwu finished with 11 points. Bogdan Bogdanović had a slump tonight as he only put up 10 as in comparison to the past 4 games where he was averaging 26 points. Trae Young had a masterclass performance as he scored 37 points on the following shooting splits: 50% from field goal, 42.9% from three, and 100% from the charity stripe. Young had also tallied 10 of his 13 assists of the night during the first half giving him the double-double early on.
Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks (16-15) will look to continue their winning ways as the Chicago Bulls will come into town. The 11-18 Bulls are currently on a three game losing streak including the overtime loss to Atlanta on Dec.11. The Hawks will have yet another easy time scoring against this poor defensive Bulls squad as they just recently allowed 150 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves. On the season, the Bulls are currently averaging 113.2 points per game while giving up 115.1. As the Hawks get closer to finally having a healthy squad it will help them tremendously in this packed eastern conference race as multiple teams are separated by a game.
Postgame Interviews
Trae Young
For more News about the Atlanta Hawks visit: www.atlantahawks.com
For more sports coverage from MLB, NBA, NFL, to NCAA contact Julian Ojeda at 786-501-9082 or via email julian@communitynewspapers.com
