Atlanta Loses 106-102 on the Road in Portland Despite 40 Points From Dejounte Murray

The Hawks continue their road trip with a matchup vs Utah on Friday night

While both teams were missing several key players, the Hawks and the Blazers found a way to play a really entertaining game, that ended up going in the favor of Portland. 

Atlanta turned into a one man show on offense, with Dejounte Murray scoring 40 points, but no other Hawk had more than 13. That has been a theme for Atlanta with Trae Young and Jalen Johnson out. 

Portland on the other hand got two huge performances from Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton. The two combined for 69 points and only one other Blazer was in double-digits. Despite that, the Hawks had a chance to eke out a win in the end, but they missed a chance on an offensive rebound at the end of the game. 

Let's recap a roller coaster night in Portland. 

With Saddiq Bey out for the season and Jalen Johnson still out with an ankle injury, the Hawks were going to have a new face in their starting five.

That new face would be the veteran Wesley Matthews. Matthews joined Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Vit Krejci, and Clint Capela as the first five on the floor for the Hawks. 

The Blazers were without Jerami Grant tonight and they moved rookie Scoot Henderson to the bench for tonight. Anfernee Simons, Dalano Blanton, Kris Murray, Toumani Camara, and Deandre Ayton were the starters for Portland tonight. 

Coming into tonight's game, Dejounte Murray was a cut above the rest of the players on the floor talent-wise and he showed it in the first quarter. The opening quarter of this game was very reminiscent of the Hawks win over Memphis last Friday. Neither offense could really get going, but Murray was shining when he had the ball. 

Atlanta has had the benefit of playing some short-handed teams in the last week or so and their defense has been really good in those games. That trend continued to start this game, as the Hawks held Portland to 1-8 shooting from three and Ayton was the only source of offense for them. He finished with eight points in the first, but Portland only scored 17 points in the quarter and they trailed Atlanta 24-17. Murray led all scorers with nine. 

To start the second quarter, Portland's offense continued to struggle and after a Bogdanovic three, Atlanta led 29-17. The Hawks got the lead up to 16 points in the second quarter and it looked like they were fixing to pull away from Portland.

But the Blazers started to find offense and it was Ayton and Simons that were doing it for Portland. 

While they were not shooting the ball well from three, Portland was getting it done in the paint and the former No. 1 overall pick had a great first half. 

The Hawks did not have a duo like the Blazers in the first half, but Murray had the best performance of anyone in the first half. He finished with 24 points and shot 4-6 from the field. 

Dejounte Murray finished the first half with 24 points🔥#HawksHighlight pic.twitter.com/szCaJNeBqP

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) March 14, 2024

Portland cut the lead to five though and the Hawks only led 52-47 heading into the half. After allowing only 17 points in the first quarter, Atlanta allowed 30 in the second. 

No other Hawks had more than six points at halftime. The Hawks shot 46% from the field and 35% from three in the first half. 

Simons and Ayton combined for 34 of the Blazers 47 first-half points. Portland shot 44% from the field and 25% from three. 30 of their 47 points came in the paint. 

It was not Murray that came out hot in the second half though. That would be Dalano Banton, who scored eight early points in the third quarter, while Murray missed his first three shots. Before you knew it, Portland trailed by only one points. 

Things would only continue to unravel for the Hawks in the third quarter. 

The offense was stumbling and Portland was taking full advantage. The Blazers went on a big 19-4 run to take a 71-62 lead. The time when it Atlanta led by 16 felt like it took place in another game and Atlanta had their backs against the wall for the first time in the game. 

Their three-point shooting would start to find itself though. Garrison Matthews, Krejci, and Hunter all hit some huge threes to keep the Hawks in the game and now allow Portland to pull away. While Murray was not having a strong third quarter, the supporting cast stepped up for the first time all game. 

Whattttttt pic.twitter.com/BInyGU8o09

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 14, 2024

While Atlanta was still in the game, Ayton and Simons cotinued to dominate for Portland. Ayton had 10 points and six rebounds in the quarter, while Simons had 13 in the quarter, including a buzzer-beater to end the quarter and he was up to 30 for the game. Portland led 82-75 heading into the final quarter. The Hawks hit six threes in the quarter and still lost it 35-23. 

Murray and Hunter both had strong starts to the fourth, but two big three's from Matisse Thybulle kept Portland ahead. It was a back-and-forth start to the quarter, with the Blazers leading 93-88 at the first timeout with 6:38 left in the game. 

After an Ayton bucket put Portland up seven, Murray hit a big three and then Capela split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three 95-92. 

Mar 13, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) scores a basket on a layup during the first half against Portland Trail Blazers forward Justin Minaya (24), forward Kris Murray (8), and center Deandre Ayton (2) at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

After a couple of turnovers from the Blazers, Krejci split a pair of free throws and it was 95-93 with nearly three minutes remaining. Atlanta could have tied it had Capela and Krejci hit their other free throws. 

On the other end, the Hawks played solid defense, but Simons hit a deep three that felt like the back breaker and the score was 99-93. 

After Bogdanovic found Capela for a lob, the Hawks went down on the other end trailing by four and forced a missed shot by Ayton, but Portland got the rebound and drew the foul. Ayton hit both and it was 99-93. 

Desperately needing a basket, Capela got the ball under the rim and hit the basket and drew the foul. He squandered a chance to make it a three-point game and missed the free throw. 

Murray cut the lead to 101-99 and Atlanta got a stop with under a minute left. After a Murray miss at the basket, Capela got a big offensive rebound and Atlanta got the ball to Bogdanovic for a three and the lead, but he missed it. Simons drew a foul on the other end and hit both free throws to make it 103-99 with 22.3 seconds left. 

Out of the timeout, Atlanta got the ball to its best player on the floor and Murray hit a huge three to cut it to 103-102 with 17. 6 seconds left. After forcing a timeout, Portland was able to get the ball into Ayton and he hit his first throw to make it a two-point game. 

But he missed the second. 

The ball went up in the air and Portland found a way to come back down with it and the Hawks had to foul again. It was a massive blown opportunity for Atlanta and they had to foul Simons, who hit both free throws to clinch the game. After defying the odds to stay in the game, Atlanta was an offensive rebound away from having a chance to tie or win the game. They came up just short. Portland won the game 106-102. 

Murray finished the game with 40 points, but the Hawks could not get any production from anywhere else on the floor. Atlanta shot 43% from the field and 36% from three in the game. 

Simons scored 36 points for Portland while Ayton had an outstanding game with 33 points and 19 rebounds. The Blazers shot 46% from the field and 33% from three in the game. They outrebounded Atlanta 49-38. 

This is a tough loss for the Hawks and while they were shorthanded, so was Portland and the Hawks made some simple mistakes in their quest to win. 

Atlanta will be back on the floor this Friday vs the Jazz. Tip off is slated for 9:30 in Salt Lake City. 

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