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Raptors Defeat Atlanta 123-121 and Sends The Hawks to Their Third Straight Loss

The Hawks are back on the court this Sunday when they face the Orlando Magic

Jackson Caudell

Raptors Defeat Atlanta 123-121 and Sends The Hawks to Their Third Straight Loss
Raptors Defeat Atlanta 123-121 and Sends The Hawks to Their Third Straight Loss /
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The Hawks had not played since last Wednesday before taking the court tonight against the Raptors in their first game since the NBA All-Star Break and they were looking to come out of the gates strong in this next part of the season. 

That is not what happened. Tonight was more of the same from the Hawks. They were unable to get any defensive stops when they needed to and they were unable to 

The starters for Atlanta tonight were Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela. 

Toronto began with Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr, Jordan Nwora, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl. 

It is hard to imagine a worse start to this game for Atlanta. 

They did well on the offensive glass to give themselves some second opportunities, but they started 1-9 from the field, with a Capela field goal being the only bucket. The Raptors raced out to a 20-7 lead and Hawks head coach Quin Snyder had to call a timeout halfway through the quarter. 

With Capela on a minutes restriction, it was going to be interesting to see how the Hawks handled those other minutes. They split it up between Capela, Bruno Fernando, and Jalen Johnson at center. The Hawks went with a nine-man rotation tonight, with Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter, Fernando, and Garrison Matthews coming off the bench. 

It was an ugly opening quarter on offense for the Hawks and they trailed the Raptors 33-22 at the end of one. 

The second quarter was completely different and one big reason for that was the Hawks's offense getting going and Fernando brought a ton of energy off the bench. Nearly three and a half minutes into the second quarter, The Hawks had cut into the lead and trailed 42-37. 

Things got interesting towards the end of the first half. 

At the 4:27 mark, Poeltl was not called for an obvious moving screen and Young went down in pain. Snyder was arguing with the ref over not calling anything and it resulted in Snyder being ejected. 

That was not the only point of frustration for the Hawks in the second quarter. Later on, De'Andre Hunter was called for a technical foul. 

After the game, Snyder discussed why he got upset and pointed out that he thought it was a foul and that Young might be injured. 

The Snyder ejection and the Hawks' frustration with the officials might have been the story of the second quarter, but the Hawks outscored the Raptors 42-32 and only trailed by one, 65-64 at the end of the first half. 

After a horrible start from the field, the Hawks would go on to shoot 44% from the field and 40% from three. Murray led the way with 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Fernando had a big first half, finishing with 10 points. 

Toronto shot 49% from the field in the first half and 35% from three. Quickley had 18 points, while Scottie Barnes had 14 points and six assists. 

The third quarter started the Hawks offense still in rhythm, but it did not stay that way. Despite getting 10 points from Murray in the quarter, Atlanta could not get it going from outside. The Hawks shot 1-6 from three, while the Raptors were 5-9. They got a collective effort from everyone and after three quarters, Toronto led 96-90. Another reason for the offensive struggle was the fact that Young could not get going shooting the ball. He scored only six points through three quarters. 

The fourth quarter was one where the Hawks could not get enough stops. The Raptors were killing the Hawks with backdoor cuts and getting to the basket and Atlanta could not stop them when they needed. 

The Hawks finally got a stop with 18.3 seconds left and trailing by three. The Hawks called a timeout and then threw the ball in. Murray got the ball and was turning the corner, but the official said that he stepped out of bounds. It was questionable whether he did or not, but there was no challenge on the Hawks's end. Toronto scored on the other end and although Young hit a three at the end, the result was the Hawks losing by two and losing their third straight game. 

After the game, the officials said that Murray's foot was indeed out of bounds. 

For the game, Atlanta shot 43% from the floor and 31% from three. A big reason they were not able to come away with a win was their second half three-point shooting. The Hawks were 4-19 from three in the second half, while Toronto was 7-16. 

Murray led the way tonight with 24 points, Hunter had 22 (15 in the second half), and Bey had 18. Young had a season-low in points, only scoring 11. Hunter had another really efficient game off the bench

Toronto shot 49% from the field and 39% from three. Quickley had 24 points, Barnes 20, and rookie Grady Dick had 18 of the bench. 

Toronto had 22 fast break points compared to the Hawks's nine. 

This was a game that the Hawks had an opportunity to win. A better half-shooting from three, a better performance from Young, Capela not missing a lot of close-ranged shots early in the game, and a better shooting game from Bogdanovic would have meant a Hawks win. But, it was their third straight loss, and the Hawks remain in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. 

The Hawks's next opportunity for a win will be on Sunday at home vs the Orlando Magic. 

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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

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