Tired legs catch up to Hawks in loss to Mavericks

Hunter, as well as Bogdan Bogdanovic, had helped the Hawks cut the lead to 100-93 with 6:16 to play.

“Last five minutes, we were still there and we had a couple 3s rim out and missed a layup, or could have cut the lead to seven at one point as well,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.

But then they went scoreless, with jumpers hitting the front of the rim or going halfway down before popping back out. On top of that, they struggled to get out in transition and the Mavericks made them pay with a 3 from PJ Washington that extended the lead to 105-93 with 2:41 to play.

2. While the Hawks needed to play collective defense, they got a big defensive night from Hunter, who also had 13 points. The Hawks matched up Hunter, who missed the first meeting between the two teams, primarily against Luka Doncic.

In the two meetings between the teams in January when Doncic scored 73 points, it seemed the Hawks could not find the right answer defensively. But the Hawks found something with Hunter, who held Doncic to 0-of-5 shooting to begin Thursday’s game.

Though Doncic scored 25 points, he did so on an inefficient 8-of-25 shooting night and he typically made his shots when Hunter was not the primary defender.

“I thought Hunt really took the matchup individually, and he’s (Doncic) always gonna have some stretches there in the third quarter where he can put some baskets together pretty quickly,” Snyder said. “But, I thought we gave ourselves a chance.”

3. Hawks rookie Kobe Bufkin also gave the Hawks a chance, especially with his early defense on Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving. The 20-year-old guard did not shy away from his matchup with the eight-time All-Star, helping to force Irving to make extra passes or take tougher shots.

Bufkin also embraced opportunities to play physical defense against Irving. He handled the moments when the veteran guard called for switches, fought through screens and recognized the right opportunities to go help.

With just under a minute to play in the first quarter, Irving called for a screen on Bufkin from Maxi Kleber. It allowed Irving to go to the wing where he looked to attack Jalen Johnson on a drive. But Bufkin fought through the screen, helped Johnson by sealing of the basket and forcing Irving to turn the corner. It allowed Hawks center Bruno Fernando enough time to get in position to block Irving’s look at the rim and forced him to dump off to Kleber.

Bufkin took advantage and knocked the ball from Kleber’s hands to start a transition play.

He attacked on offense, too. He scored nine points including a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the first.

“(It feels) tremendously,” Bufkin said. “It’s a lot of work that goes into it in order for it to be on display in full effect. It’s cool to see.”

4. Snyder stepped out onto the court without his usual Vans and instead donned a pair of Nike Air Force Ones as part of a league-wide initiative to celebrate and bring awareness to Autism Acceptance Month.

The league will auction off the sneakers and all of the proceeds will provide support, resources, and assistance to individuals and families living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to help increase the number of opportunities available to autistic individuals.

“It’s something that we (coaches) all wanted to participate in,” Snyder said. “And obviously hopefully have a positive impact on autism, generally.”

5. The Hawks could have taken sole possession of the ninth seed with a win over the Mavericks. But their loss allowed the Bulls to re-gain their half-game game lead.

Stat to know

0 - The Hawks held Luka Doncic scoreless in two of the eight quarters they faced him this season. He scored 98 points in the other six quarters.

Quotable

“I feel like all of the (tough) matchups, he’s been getting them. I’ve seen him in the background and he’s been doing a good job keeping his arms up.” Clint Capela on De’Andre Hunter’s defense on Luka Doncic.

Up next

The Hawks head to Denver to face the Nuggets on Saturday night.