In their first game back after the All-Star break, Tony Snell’s game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted the Hawks (17-20) to a 121-120 win vs. the Raptors (17-20) Thursday in Tampa.
Next up, the Hawks play the Kings Saturday at State Farm Arena.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. Although the Hawks entered the fourth quarter down 10 points, trailed by 15 at the 6:13 mark and hadn’t played well since the start of the second quarter, they didn’t relent and ultimately squeaked out a win on a 3-pointer by Snell, who has been red-hot from 3-point range. Trae Young and Danilo Gallinari scored 10 straight points to make it a five-point game, 112-107, with 4:14 to play, and a tip-in by Young made it 117-113. He made a driving layup to make it 120-118 – despite the Raptors making timely 3′s, the Hawks kept themselves in it long enough to set up one final play, with Young finding an open Snell. “It’s a 48-minute game,” interim coach Nate McMillan said. “You’re going to be up, you’re going to be down. That game is not over until that 48 minutes is up.”
2. Getting off to a hot start, the Hawks jumped out to a 37-26 lead in the first quarter, shooting 51.7% from the floor. They were up 19 early in the second, but the Raptors took advantage of a Hawks cold spell and finally went up, 78-76, midway through the third. It seemed like the Hawks couldn’t find the rhythm they had established early, putting themselves in a tough situation going into the fourth. But, just as they had done against Orlando March 3, they surged down the stretch to get the win. For a team that’s struggled in the final period, that’s an encouraging sign. “For me, I wish we didn’t get ourselves dug in such a deep hole going into the fourth, but these last two games have really shown what we’re capable of,” Young said.
Credit: Mike Carlson
Credit: Mike Carlson
3. Young, Kevin Huerter and Gallinari led the way on offense in the fourth quarter, with Huerter scoring 12 of his 19 points (6-16 field goals, 3-9 from 3, 4-4 free throws), Young scoring 11 of his game-high 37 points (11-24 FG, 2-7 from 3, 13-16 FT) and Gallinari scoring seven of his 20 points (6-10 FG, 4-8 from 3, 4-4 FT) in that period. Norman Powell led the Raptors with 33 points. Toronto was missing several players due to health and safety protocols, including Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby. The Hawks were missing Kris Dunn (right ankle surgery), De’Andre Hunter (right knee surgery) and Cam Reddish (right Achilles soreness).
4. Because the middle of the Eastern Conference standings is so jam-packed, this win actually lifted the Hawks from No. 11 in the standings to No. 8, as of Thursday night. That would put them in the play-in tournament, which the top six teams get to avoid but will pit the 7-10 seeds against each other to determine the final No. 7 and No. 8 seed. This is also the third time this season the Hawks have won three games in a row.
5. It’s surreal to think about, but this game marked the one-year anniversary of the NBA shutting down after Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The Hawks were in the fourth quarter of an overtime loss to the Knicks when the news broke. All of the sudden, Vince Carter was playing in his final game, as he retired from basketball after the season. The Hawks went nine months without playing a game as the league’s calendar was upended, their record disqualifying them from playing in the Orlando bubble.
Stat of the game
13 (the amount of blocks the Hawks tallied, with five by Clint Capela, two by John Collins, two by Kevin Huerter, one by Trae Young and three by rookie Onyeka Okongwu).
Star of the game
Tony Snell (hit the game-winning 3-point shot at the buzzer)
Quotable
“I just threw both my arms and hands up because I knew it was going in.” (Danilo Gallinari on his reaction to Snell’s final shot).
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