Three Takeaways From Hawks 124-97 Loss to Brooklyn

The Hawks face the Nets again on Saturday afternoon

Any good feeling the Hawks had after winning their first two games without Trae Young just went away in a heart beat. 

Atlanta is in Brooklyn for two games vs the Nets and winning both games would have helped the Hawks tighten their grip on their spot in the NBA play-in Tournament. The Nets had other plans though. 

Brooklyn ran away from the Hawks in the second half and cut Atlanta's lead for the No. 10 spot to three games, making Saturday's game very important. If Atlanta wins on Saturday, the lead for No. 10 will go back to four games. If the Nets win, the lead will be cut to two games and they will own the tiebreaker over Atlanta. The Hawks could use a win on Saturday. 

So what are the big takeaways from last night's game?

1. Brooklyn's three-point shooting was the difference

The Hawks cut a big 1st quarter defecit to only six points at halftime despite the Nets shooting well from three. The hope was that Brooklyn would not shoot as well in the second half and the Hawks could find a way to win the game. 

The Nets did not cool off though. 

Brooklyn was 22-26 from three, while the Hawks were only 8-28. When a team makes 14 more three-pointers than you do, it is going to be tough to win that game. The Nets had huge performances from Cam Johnson (7-11 from three, 29 points), as well as former Hawks Dennis Schroder (23 points on 5-7 shooting from three). Outside of Dejounte Murray, the Hawks could not find a way to generate any offense last night. 

2. The third quarter was where Brooklyn seperated from Atlanta

The Hawks got off to a dreadful start in this game. They trailed 18-4 early in the first quarter and 34-16 after the first. In the second quarter though, Atlanta cut into that lead, outscoring the Nets 34-22 and only trailing by six at the half. Atlanta had momentum on their side, but it did not last. The Hawks have been one of the worst third quarter teams in the NBA all year long and they continued that trend tonight. 

In the third quarter, Brooklyn outscored Atlanta 38-25 and the Nets shot 74% from the field and 67% from three. The Hawks were not bad on offense in that quarter, but nowhere near the same level as Brooklyn. The Nets went into the 4th quarter with a 19 point lead and things only got worse from there for Atlanta. 

3. The Hawks really miss Trae Young on offense

Feb 29, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) moves past Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. (4) in the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from Dejounte Murray, no one on the Hawks could find a way to get anything going on offense. While the Hawks were not perfect on offense in the first two games without Young, they did a good enough job and played well on defense to get a win. When the defense is as bad is it was last night, the offense has to be better and it was not. 

The Hawks miss Young's offensive capabilities and not even in the scoring sense. He finds ways to get his teammates easy shots and makes defenses cover him from everywhere on the court. Dejounte Murray is a good player, but he is not going to do that. While Young is out, Bogdan Bogdanovic and others are going to have to step up. It can't be Murray and Jalen Johnson all the time. Young is going to be out for a while and the Hawks have to find a way to be better on offense or they will risk falling out of the play-in tournament. 

Brooklyn Nails 22 Three-Pointers in Blowout Win Over the Hawks