The Hawks erased an 18-point deficit, tying the game a couple of times to give themselves a chance on Friday night at State Farm Arena. But the Kings got the better of them down the stretch to hand the Hawks a 123-115 loss.
Here are five observations:
1. Things appeared to finally swing the Hawks’ way as they got enough stops to eliminate an 18-point deficit. The Hawks (2-6) went on a 19-5 run that included 3s from Garrison Mathews and Trae Young that cut the Kings’ lead to 109-105.
Young, who scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds, drew a charge, found Clint Capela with a bounce pass for an and-one dunk, then hit a 3 that tied the game at 109. The Kings responded quickly with six points but the Hawks didn’t lose their poise and kept the game within two possessions.
But things just wouldn’t fall the Hawks’ way even though Kings center Domantas Sabonis fouled out with 2:01 to play in the game. Officials overturned a defensive foul on De’Aaron Fox and assessed Young for an offensive foul. They also called Hawks forward Jalen Johnson for back-to-back fouls on DeMar DeRozan despite replays showing minimal contact. Then officials overturned a goaltending call on Keegan Murray, determining that it was a good block upon the mandatory review within the final two minutes.
2. It did not help that the injury bug continued to plague the Hawks, forcing them into several lineup changes over the last two days to find some kind of spark. After trying out forward David Roddy in the starting lineup on Wednesday, the Hawks opted to start Larry Nance Jr. on Friday at power forward. By the start of the second half, they opted for more shooting and put in Mathews at shooting guard.
The Hawks still have five of their top nine rotational players sidelined with injuries. The Hawks seemed to find a lineup in Young, Mathews, Johnson, Capela and Keaton Wallace in the closing minutes of the game. That group gave them a chance.
3. The Kings just ripped the Hawks apart, especially in the third quarter where they blew the game open with their 3-point shooting. They opened the second half scoring 19 points in the first four minutes. They kept the Hawks on their heels, drawing them into contact and getting to the line early.
Then the Hawks struggled to stop DeRozan, who fired off three consecutive mid-range jumpers after getting the switch on smaller defenders, which gave the Kings a 15-point lead. He scored eight of his 27 points in the third quarter.
“Boy got game, for real,” Wallace said. “His mid range was tough to guard tonight.”
On nights where the Hawks would have Dyson Daniels (right hip flexor strain) and De’Andre Hunter (right knee injury management), they would match the two wings on DeRozan, as well as Fox. But with the players they had available, the matchups just did not work.
4. The Hawks needed as many offensive jolts as possible and got one from Mathews after he exploded in the third quarter. Mathews hit four 3-pointers in the quarter, scoring 14 of his 23 points.
He made a career-high seven 3-pointers and much like his first career night from deep, it came against the Kings.
5. Like Mathews, the Hawks leaned heavily on Wallace, who played 29 minutes. The Hawks turned to him to close out the game, after he made 50% of his eight 3-point attempts.
On top of that, the two-way guard hustled, forcing jump balls and winning them against bigger centers. He stepped up and defended, cutting off ballhandlers and forcing them into traffic that helped force stops.
“The first game that I played, all the coaches, they gave me the confidence to go out there and just play my game and try to carve out a role on the team,” Wallace said. “And they were just so positive the first game I played.”
Stat to know
400 -- Garrison Mathews sank his 400th career 3-pointer. He becomes the 12th undrafted player in NBA history to make 400 3s in fewer than 275 career games.
Quotable
“Obviously, I don’t like moral victories at all, but anything we can take from this is the guys coming off the bench, playing really well, and giving us a spark, which is good.” -- Trae Young on what he takes away from Friday.
Up next
The Hawks head to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Sunday night.
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