The Hawks have struggled to close out games this season and that pattern continued on Friday night. They fell to the Kings 117-110 in the final home game of 2023.
Here are five observations:
1. The Hawks led by 18 points at the first half but the defense that helped them race out to a 71-53 lead evaporated quickly after the Kings adjusted. The team did all the right things to take away opportunities from the Kings in the first half but they stopped rotating out quickly enough. The Kings took advantage and got hot from the perimeter.
Coming into the night, the Kings shot 36.4% from the perimeter and the Hawks held them to 7-of-25 shooting from distance. But the Kings, particularly De’Aaron Fox, fired on all cylinders, especially when the Hawks gave them just enough breathing room.
A 3 from Fox, who scored 31 points, cut the Hawks lead to 106-105 with 5:48 to play and 3 from Chris Duarte gave the Kings the lead for good.
The Hawks never scored in the final five minutes.
“There’s times later in the game, (where) the game’s gonna slow down,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “And, making plays for one another is key. They were trapping Trae (Young), and he was getting off it. We had some opportunities and weren’t able to convert and then the key thing is to defend, to continue to defend and hopefully get some things where you’re not playing against a set defense and take advantage of that.”
Young scored 24 points and had nine assists.
2. As of late the Hawks have been unable to close out games and have gone 6-14 in clutch games this season. They’ve shown that they can stay in games but have struggled to execute down the stretch.
The second half of games have been brutal for the Hawks as of late with opponents erasing leads or snuffing out comeback efforts.
“We have to tell ourselves, the game’s not over after the first half, second half especially whenever we’re beating them that way the first half,” Hawks center Clint Capela said. “We know that they’re going to come harder in the second half and try to give themselves a chance to get back in this game.”
This season, the Hawks have lost nine games where they’ve had a double-digit lead, the second-most in the league. They trail only the Spurs, who have 10.
3. The Hawks got out to a hot start, moving the ball and finding the best shots with 19 assists for 20 made baskets from the floor, with three different Hawks players scoring double-digit points.
Some of that started with guard Dejounte Murray attacking the basket and it opened up the floor. Murray did hit four 3s in the first half to lead the Hawks with 16 of his 18 final points in that span.
The Hawks hit 50% of their overall shots, all while holding the Kings under 30% from 3 as they used their defense to generate offense. They scored eight points off the four turnovers they forced.
4. Capela and Jalen Johnson attacked the boards as they both posted double-doubles. The two along with Saddiq Bey had their hands full with Domantas Sabonis and trying to limit the havoc that he can cause on the boards. Sabonis scored 25 and had 10 rebounds.
Capela had 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Johnson scored 16 points and picked up a career-high 15 rebounds. Bey continued to give Hawks his all on the boards as well, with seven rebounds. Over the last eight games, he has averaged 8.7 rebounds.
The Hawks ended the night a plus-13 on the glass and they’re 4-3 on the season when they grab 50 or more rebounds.
5. The Hawks continue to struggle at home and have a 4-9 record at State Farm Arena. Heading into the new year, though, they’ll spend far more time at home after getting much of the travel out of the way.
After their trip to Washington D.C., 10 of their 15 games in the month of January will take place at State Farm Arena, with a five-game homestand that runs from Jan. 10 to Jan. 17.
Stat to Know
26 -- After making 15 3s on Friday, the Hawks stretched their streak with 10-plus 3-pointers made to 26 games. It’s the longest streak in franchise history and the longest active streak in the NBA.
Quotable
“We just got to do a better job and, I don’t know, talk to each other, scream at each other, argue, I don’t know. We gotta do something.” -- Clint Capela on how the Hawks can break out of their rut.
Up next
The Hawks wrap up 2023 on the road with a matchup against the Wizards on New Year’s Eve on Sunday.
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