The Hawks returned home to State Farm Arena and held on to down the Pelicans 124-121 in overtime on Saturday night.
Here are five observations.
1. The Hawks got out to a solid start after limiting two of the Pelicans’ top offensive options. Ahead of the game, Hawks coach Nate McMillan pointed to the strength of the Pelicans’ big three and their ability to each score 20 points on any given night.
But early in the first half, the Hawks slowed both Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson and challenged them in the paint. The Hawks made the Pelicans work for all of their shots inside. They held them to 3-of-9 shooting early in the first quarter but eventually allowed them to score 28 points.
The Hawks remained aggressive throughout the first half, scoring 14 points off of the six turnovers they forced.
2. But the Hawks are still figuring out how to consistently play strong defense for a full 48 minutes. After holding the Pelicans to under 30 points in each of the first two quarters, the Hawks gave up 33 points in the third. It allowed the Pelicans to climb back and they outscored the Hawks 57-49 in the second half.
Williamson and Ingram found their footing and CJ McCollum began to find his shot from long range.
The Hawks briefly regained their defensive footing in the fourth quarter but Williamson scored nine points in the final five minutes to erase the Hawks’ 13-point lead. Williamson then gave the Pelicans a 109-107 lead with a turnaround fadeaway jumper.
“I liked the way we played for 44 minutes,” McMillan said. “Then the last four or five minutes, we gave him a couple offensive rebounds off the free-throw line. We had a couple of situations where we gave them and-ones and then we didn’t execute some of the plays in the last five minutes and in overtime. But we found a way to win.”
3. Trae Young seemed unfazed despite dealing with an eye injury and put up another strong offensive night. He scored 15 of his 34 points in the third quarter, trying to power the Hawks’ offense.
Young shot 9-of-25 from the floor in the game and worked into the paint to draw contact and get a rhythm going. He made 14 of his 15 shots at the line.
The 24-year-old guard briefly exited Saturday’s game with a right-calf contusion after Williamson fell on his leg awkwardly toward the end of the third quarter. Like Wednesday, he returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, I’m getting beat up the last couple of games,” Young said. “That’s a big dude, a strong dude too. I’m alright though. Zion just landed on me kind of just wrong. I think he kind of kneed me in my calf just as he landed. So yeah, there’s a big bruise on my calf now, but it’ll get better.”
4. Young and Dejounte Murray kept the ball moving to open things up for their teammates. The two guards combined for 21 of the team’s 28 assists, creating 49 points.
Murray ended the night with his first triple double in a Hawks uniform. He had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
“I’m learning that when the game is close and tight, (Murray) wants the ball,” McMillan said. “And he has shown in this short season that he’s a playmaker. He can create and I think both he and Trae are doing a really good job of taking advantage of matchups, understanding plays to call out on the floor to get the matchup that we want.”
The team has continued to build chemistry with the new faces on the roster. But McMillan credited Young for his play-calling on Saturday night and said that the guard showed growth in his ability to get everyone involved in the game.
5. In the front court, the Hawks got a big night from Clint Capela, who scored a season-high 21 points and pulled down a season-high 19 rebounds. Capela has been due for a big offensive night this season, after averaging 8.4 points through the first nine games.
McMillan was pleased with Capela’s night but wants more too.
”That’s the Clint we need,” McMillan said. “That’s the Clint that we need out on the floor -- rebounding the balls, controlling the boards, defending the paint. And he was big all night long tonight, not only rebounding, but defending the paint, up on the pick and rolls when Ingram and McCollum (were operating). (He) was just really active all night long. But these are numbers that we we saw from Clint two years ago and these are the numbers that we need to continue to see from him.”
Stat to know
The Hawks had 12 steals. It’s the fourth time this season they have had 10 or more, which is tied for the second-most such games in the NBA.
Quotable
“I mean, like always preach you gonna make or miss shots in this league. You know, we never, never fold under pressure, that’s just the mentality I have. Continue to shoot.” -- Dejounte Murray on his attitude heading into overtime.
Up next
The Hawks face the Bucks on Monday night at 8:15 p.m. at State Farm Arena.
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