Hawks fall to Spurs at the wire

1. The Hawks fought back after trailing the Spurs by as many as 20 points in the third quarter. But they finished the third quarter on 19-7 run and eventually tied the game.

But then the game came down to free throws after Onyeka Okongwu fouled Victor Wembanyama on a dunk attempt with 2.4 to play. The Hawks quickly opted to challenge the play.

Officials deemed the challenge unsuccessful and the Hawks lost their final timeout. Wembanyama went to the line and split free throws, intentionally missing the second, and the Hawks secured the rebound.

But the Hawks did not have a timeout and they got the ball to Trae Young who put up a heave.

“In hindsight, we didn’t win the challenge,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “So hurts, hurts you with a time out. But you know, we’ll dwell on that. I’ll think about that one. Like I said, it’s a tough way at the end, especially when our guys did as good a job as they did coming back.”

2. While the Hawks tried to weather the Spurs early offensive onslaught, Okongwu aggressively attacked the basket. He also confidently shot jumpers from deep and did not miss in his first 15 minutes of action.

Okongwu was 6-of-6 from the field, 3-of-3 from deep and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line through the first half. He led all Hawks scorers with 15 points at halftime and finished with a career-high points. He is the first Hawk this season to record at least 30 points, ten rebounds and five assists in a single game.

“Yeah,” Okongwu said when asked about his big night. “But I wish we would have got the win.”

3. Young also poured on the offense, dominating the second half after six turnovers in the first. He scored 23 points and dished seven assists to help the Hawks erase the 20-point deficit.

“Just started being more aggressive and just taking my shots, instead of looking out,” Young said. “Just taking my shots. I wasn’t really doing anything different. Just that some of them went in, still getting everybody involved, but being a little bit more aggressive and faster.”

He found several of his teammates in the pick-and-roll and hitting them with lobs over the Spurs. He also hit a couple of big 3s, including one with 4:36 to play in the game.

Young finished with 32 points and 12 assists.

4. Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter started his second straight game with Jalen Johnson sidelined for the remainder of the season. Hunter drew Wembanyama as his primary defensive assignment and did not make it easy for the 7-footer to score.

“Y’all know Dre,” Okongwu said. “He’s a tough, physical defender, 6-9, long we weren’t worried about Wemby doing much on Dre tonight.”

Hunter also knocked down 55% of his 3-pointers on Wednesday night. It’s the second straight game that Hunter has made 50% of his jumpers from deep after a streaky January.

5. The Hawks faced the Spurs in their first game with newly acquired guard De’Aaron Fox. He and Spurs veteran Chris Paul combined for 22 of the Spurs’ 36 assists.

Stat to know

8 - The Hawks are 0-4 this season when Young turns it over eight times or more.

Quotable

“It’s funny, one of my homeboys, Drew, he told me that I got no swag on the court. So I was like, ‘Alright, I’m trying a headband tomorrow.’ I told him yesterday and when I told Dre, he’s like, ‘You wear it, I wear it.’” Onyeka Okongwu on he and De’Andre Hunter wearing headbands during Wednesday’s game.

Up next

The Hawks host the Bucks on Friday night at State Farm Arena.