Atlanta Hawks Fourth Quarter Comeback Falls Short vs Houston, Snapping Their Three Game Winning Streak

The Hawks battled back, but ultimately lost to the Rockets tonight on the road, dropping their record to 35-37

Mar 25, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) controls the ball as Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) defends during the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

After trailing for much of the night, the Atlanta Hawks made a game of it against the Houston Rockets in the 4th quarter. Houston led by as much as 25 in this game, but Atlanta cut the lead to three in the final quarter. They did not have enough left in the tank, though, and had their three-game winning streak snapped.

The offense, which had been among the league's best in the last ten games, struggled in a big way through three quarters. The Hawks scored 74 points in the first three quarters, not scoring more than 26 points in a quarter. The turnovers and three-point shooting were a disaster for much of the night and even without their best defender (Amen Thompson), the Rockets bottled up the Hawks' offense while killing them on the glass and with second-chance points in the first half.

For the game, Atlanta shot 45% from the field and 28% from three. Trae Young and Dyson Daniels had 19 points each while Zaccharie Risacher scored 18. Terance Mann (16 points) and Georges Niang (12 points) scored 28 off the bench for the Hawks. The three point shooting and first half issues on offense doomed the Hawks for the rest of the game.

This loss drops the Hawks to 35-37. With Orlando defeating Charlotte tonight, the Hawks lead over the Magic for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference is down to just one game. Atlanta has a crucial game on Thursday night vs Miami. Atlanta could clinch the season series against the Heat with a win on Thursday.

The Hawks kept their same starting five in tonight's game. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu were the first five on the floor.

After a rough shooting start from the Hawks (2-11 from the field, 0-5 from three), Atlanta was trailing 9-2. Things changed quickly, though, and it was the youngest member of the Hawks who was leading the charge. Atlanta went on a 14-2 run to take a 16-9 lead with 5:01 left in the first quarter, and eight of those 14 points came from Zaccharie Risacher, including a posterizing dunk over Alperen Sengun.

Zacch had to crack a smile after this lefty jam 😃 pic.twitter.com/8sQI3GdnKO

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 26, 2025

The tables turned quickly on Atlanta thanks to turnovers and poor three-point shooting. The Hawks turned it over six times in the first quarter, leading to 10 Houston points, and Atlanta went 1-11 from three. While Houston did not shoot the ball all that well (3-13 from three), they got easy points from Atlanta's turnovers. The Rockets got 10 points from Jalen Green and led the Hawks 30-23 at the end of the first.

Things gout ugly to start the second quarter. Houston began the quarter on a 15-3 run and Atlanta was 1-7 from the field and 1-6 from three. They already had three turnovers in the quarter as well. The Rockets size was giving Atlanta problems and the game was starting to slip away.

Trae Young finally started to get some things going towards the end of the quarter, scoring 11 points in two minutes to cut the Rockets lead to 12, but Houston responded with five quick points. They took a 65-48 lead into the half.

At halftime, Atlanta was shooting 38% from the field and 22% from three. Young led the way with 13 points and five assists and Risacher had eight points, but only played nine minutes, which was a puzzling decision from Quin Snyder. Atlanta turned it over nine times in the first half and Houston scored 13 points off of those turnovers. The Rockets also outrebounded the Hawks 31-20 in the first half and scored 20 second-chance points. Houston shot 46% from the field and 28% from three in the first half.

The third quarter was not any kinder to the Hawks on the offensive end. They started Georges Niang instead of Mouhamed Gueye to being the half and even gave Garrison Matthews some minutes, but nothing worked. Atlanta could not crack the zone defense that the Rockets were throwing at the Hawks and they trailed 94-74 going to the final quarter.

They were not done yet though and had one more fight left in them. A 13-2 run to start the quarter cut the lead to 96-87 with just under nine minutes left and that turned into a 20-4 start to the quarter and the lead was cut to 98-94.

However, the Rockets responded with a 10-3 run to go back up 11 and it looked like the game was over, but the Hawks made a late run and a three from Niang cut the lead to three, but the Hawks could get no closer. The Rockets hit their free throws and won the game 121-114.

Additional Links

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