Atlanta Hawks Fall to 0-2 In Las Vegas Summer League With 79-76 Loss to San Antonio

The Hawks could not secure their first Summer League win, despite 22 points from E.J. Liddell

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) competes during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

After dropping their opening game to the Washington Wizards on Friday night, the Atlanta Hawks came into tonight's game vs San Antonio looking for their first win of the Summer. The Spurs were going to be without No. 4 overall pick Stephon Castle in this game as well.

It did not matter though. Both teams struggled on offense and despite E.J. Liddell coming off of the bench for 22 points, the Hawks lost 79-76. It was not a great not offensively for No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, but he was not the only one. The Hawks shot 35% from the field and 24% from three in the loss. In worse news, Nikola Durisic, the Hawks's second-round pick this year, injured his left foot in the first half of the game and was seen in a walking boot in the second half. Keep an eye on his status going forward.

Nikola Djurisic is wearing a boot sitting on the Hawks bench next to Jalen Johnson. Djurisic injured his foot in the first half. pic.twitter.com/qHh8FatavI

— Caleb Johnson (@ATLjohnson18) July 15, 2024

Aside from Liddell and Rob Baker (13 points, six rebounds), there was not a lot to love about this game for the Hawks. Risacher showed his intangibles once again and still looked like he had a great feel for the game, but shot 4-12 from the field and 1-7 from three. It was a rough night shooting for the No. 1 overall pick. Mo Gueye also did not shoot the ball well from the field, but he was solid on the defensive side of the ball.

Atlanta is now 0-2 in Summer League and will get an opportunity to get their first win on Wednesday night when they face Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Let's recap tonight's game in Vegas.

The Hawks stuck with the same starting lineup as they used on Friday night vs Washington.

G- Nikola Djurisic

G- Zaccharie Risacher

F- Dyland Windler

F- Mouhamed Gueye

C- Rob Baker

It was a sloppy start on offensive for the Hawks. They turned the ball over on their first three possessions, including a shot clock violation on the very first possession and then Windler got the Hawks on the scoreboard with a three. One of the stars of the Friday night game vs the Wizards was guard Keaton Wallace and he was the first sub in the game tonight. He got a bucket as soon as he got on the floor and gave the Hawks the lead 9-7 with 5:34 left in the first quarter. San Antonio responded with a 12-1 run to open up a 19-10 lead.

The Hawks' offense was a rough watch for the most part on Friday and the first quarter was not any different. However, Atlanta closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, aided by another three from Windler and two big buckets from E.J. Liddell off the bench. San Antonio led the game 21-17 after the first quarter. Atlanta shot 35% from the field in the first quarter and 20% from three. The Spurs shot 37% from the field and 27% from three. Risacher was 0-2 from the field and did not score.

The second quarter saw the Hawks offense pick up a little bit and Risacher had his first bucket of the game. Risacher came off of a screen to nail a three and then had a highlight-lob pass to Rob Baker. Jarkel Joiner, who was impressive on Friday, came off the bench to get an and-one right away and give the Hawks a 33-31 lead with 4:20 left in the quarter.

Zacch working in the paint 🎨 pic.twitter.com/X0gdTq9bEv

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 15, 2024

At the half, the Hawks went into the locker room leading by one 37-36. They had an improved second quarter on offense, but still had overall poor shooting numbers. Atlanta shot 40% from the field and 28% from three in the first half while San Antonio was 35% from the field and 18% from three. Gueye led the way for the Hawks with eight points and Risacher and Liddell each had seven.

The worst part about the first half for the Hawks was the injury to Nikola Durisic. Durisic went into the locker room in the first half with a left foot injury and was later ruled out for the remainder of the game. Wallace got the start in place of Durisic in the second half

The third quarter was a tight back-and-forth quarter between the two teams and the theme of both offenses struggling remained. San Antonio won the quarter by a score of 20-18 and they capped off the quarter and got the lead by hitting a buzzer-beater to go to the final quarter with the lead. The highlights of the quarter for the Hawks was the play of backup guard Jarkel Joiner, who played tough defense and made some disruptive plays. Rob Baker was another player who was having a solid game and led the Hawks in scoring headed to the fourth quarter.

The 4th quarter was where Liddell took over and really put the Hawks on his back. With 5:24 left in the game, Atlanta led the Spurs by a narrow margin of 62-61. As I said earlier, Liddell and Baker were the best plyaers in this game for the Hawks and are players to watch the rest of the way, especially Liddell, who should be a contender for a roster spot this season.

EJ Liddell outside ➡️ Rob Baker II inside pic.twitter.com/zvoe84sD5d

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 15, 2024

The Spurs were the team that closed the game strong though, despite the last minute of the game being hectic. Keaton Wallace hit a three to cut into the lead with 18.6 left. Just a couple of possessions later, the Hawks put up a desperation attempt from three and it fell short, but Risacher got the miss and put it in the basket in addition to getting fouled. There was not enough time though and the game was essentially over. San Antonio won the game 79-76 and moved to 2-0 in Summer League while the Hawks are now 0-2.

Atlanta is back on the court on Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. est and will face the Lakers.