All Hawks

Atlanta Uses Strong Second Half To Defeat New Orleans 124-112 and Win Their Fourth Straight Game

The Hawks Move To 11-11 After Defeating New Orleans in Dejounte Murray's return to Atlanta

Jackson Caudell

Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) drives on New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) drives on New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (50) in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Atlanta Hawks have been playing well over the past week, but tonight represented a different kind of challenge. While the Hawks have some really good wins, they have dropped a number of games that they had the upper hand in, whether that is in terms of talent, rest advantage, or both. The Pelicans came in on a long losing streak and having played on the road in New York last night, so the Hawks had the advantage over them, especially with as many injuries as they are still dealing with.

The Hawks answered the call tonight, even though it was not always pretty. They overcame a tough first half on offense and played good defense tonight in the win over the Pelicans, which is now the fourth straight win for the Hawks.

It says a lot about this team that Trae Young can go 5-16 from the floor and the team still win and shoot over 50% from the floor. Young finished with 12 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds and was a team high +20 when on the floor. Young has been more of a facilitator this year and this game was a great example.

This winning streak would not be possible without the play of De'Andre Hunter and he continued that tonight. Hunter came off the bench to score 22 points and shoot 4-7 from three. Atlanta is undefeated this year when he scores 20 points. The bench for the Hawks has been awesome during this win streak and Hunter is the biggest reason why. Atlanta's bench outscored New Orleans bench 52-29.

The Hawks got one of the best games of the year from Clint Capela, especially on the glass. Capela grabbed 17 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. He was strong defensively as well.

Jalen Johnson continues to make a case to be an All-Star. He scored 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists on 9-14 shooting.

Dyson Daniels had one of his most complete games of the year. He was a big hinderance on defense to Dejounte Murray in his return to Atlanta and he scored 19 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor. Murray was the vocal point of the Pelicans offense tonight, but he had a tough night shooting the ball, going 2-15 from the florr and 1-7 from three. Aside from CJ McCollum (29 points) and rookie Yves Missi (21 points and 10 rebounds), New Orleans could not find any consistent offense.

The Hawks finished the game shooting 51% from the field, but 26% from three. New Orleans could not take advantage of the Hawks poor shooting night from three, but other teams have this year. Atlanta needs to be able to shoot better than they did tonight.

The Hawks kept their starting lineup the same tonight. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela were the first five on the floor for Atlanta.

New Orleans was shorthanded in this game and started Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Javonte Green, Trey Murphy, and Yves Missi.

The first half was a rough shooting display from the Hawks especially from three,

The Pelicans got out to an 11-6 lead going into the first timeout and Atlanta did respond with an 8-0 run to grab the lead 14-11. While it was a rough first half shooting from three, Risacher and Johnson opened up the scoring for the night by hitting two threes.

The Hawks kept to their usual rotation in the first half. Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter, Kobe Bufkin, and Onyeka Okongwu were the guys that Quin Snyder used off the bench tonight. At the end of the first quarter, Atlanta trailed New Orleans 28-26 and was shooting 56% from the field and 38% from the floor. Johnson was leading the way with seven points, two rebounds, and two assists. The Pelicans came out with plenty of energy and were shooting 57% from the field and 43% from three to start the game.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the second quarter, especially the Hawks. Three-point shooting has not been a strength of the Hawks so far this season and that was the case in the second quarter. Young shot 0-3 from the field and did not score in the second quarter, Johnson was 0-4, and Bogdanovic was 0-4. Three of the Hawks most important players were struggling mightily to get anything going and the Pelicans were keeping them at arms length thanks to 10 points off the bench from Brandon Boston and nine from McCollum.

With 2:52 remaining, the Hawks trailed 52-44, but finally put together their best run of the first half. They outscored the Pelicans 14-7 in the final 2:52 of the first half and trailed only by one, 59-58, going into the break. The Hawks shot a fair 49% from three, but a disastrous 23% from three. Daniels led the Hawks with 11 points, and Young had four points, four rebounds, and nine assists. He was not scoring well, but he found open guys, especially towards the end of the half.

New Orleans shot 49% from the field and 31% from three. The difference in the game was that Atlanta was shooting horribly from three and missing plenty of open looks.

Both teams struggled to get anything going to start the third, but the Hawks put on what was their best run of the game gave them the momentum to win. Trailing 71-69, Atlanta went on an 11-2 run over the course of four minutes and led New Orleans 80-73 with 2:46 to go. They continued to put distance between themselves and the Pelicans as the quarter closed and led 92-85 going into the final quarter. Hunter had his best quarter of the game in the third.

New Orleans was not going to go away easily and only trailed by four with 9:16 left in the game, but Young checked back in and led a 15-8 stretch for the Hawks to put them up 11 points with 3:52 left. A series of lobs and dunks from the Hawks sealed the game and they won 124-112 over the Pelicans.

Atlanta is now 11-11 and has a three-game stretch against some of the best teams in the NBA. Milwaukee, the LA Lakers, and the Nuggets are up next for Atlanta in their quest to keep their win streak alive and climb in the Eastern Conference Standings. This team is playing well right now and continuing to improve.

Published
Jackson Caudell
JACKSON CAUDELL

Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell

Home/News