Caris LeVert Scores Game Winner To Help Atlanta Overcome 13-Point 4th Quarter Deficit and Defeat Memphis

The Atlanta Hawks trailed by as many as 13 in the 4th quarter of their game vs the Memphis Grizzlies, but Caris LeVert scored 16 in the final quarter and Dyson Daniels came up with the defensive play of the game to help LeVert score the winning basket. The Hawks were 1-4 since the All-Star break and in need of a win and they got it tonight thanks to the heroics of LeVert and Daniels.

CARIS LEVERT GETS IT TO GO AT THE BUZZER‼️ pic.twitter.com/Uf1vbfmajq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 4, 2025

Atlanta's offense had a great night tonight, shooting 57% from the field and 46% from three against a Grizzlies team that lost their best player, Jaren Jackson Jr, in the first couple of minutes of the game. While LeVert ended up with 25 after his big fourth quarter, it was the rookie Zaccharie Risacher who led the Hawks in scoring tonight, finishing with 27 points on 11-13 shooting (5-7 from three). Onyeka Okongwu had 16 points and 12 rebounds while Trae Young scored 12 points and handed out 15 assists on 5-17 shooting. The Hawks even got a solid contribution from Garrison Matthews tonight as he had 11 points in his first game in nearly a month. The negative for the Hawks tonight was their defense and the fact they were getting killed on the glass. Memphis outrebounded the Hawks 43-32 in this game, including 17 offensive rebounds. Atlanta scored a seaosn high 82 points in the paint as well, which is the third most in an NBA game this season.

The defense for the Hawks was not great, which makes it three straight games with poor defensive performances, but they forced 19 turnovers, including the final one that led to the game-winning basket. Desmond Bane had a strong performance, putting up a triple-double of 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Grizzlies shot 51% from the field and 39% from three and had seven players in double figures, but only Bane had more than 17 points in this game. Atlanta forcing 19 Memphis turnovers and scored 29 points off of those turnovers.

This was a big win for the Hawks, who had not been playing well since the All-Star Break. They move to 28-33 and remain right in the thick of the Eastern Conference play-in race heading into tomorrow's game vs the Bucks.

Let's recap tonight's game.

Atlanta made a switch in their starting lineup tonight. The Hawks inserted Dominick Barlow into the lineup in place of Mouhamed Gueye and he was alongside Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu. Memphis started Luke Kennard, Jaylen Wells, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr, and Zach Edey.

The big news out of the first quarter was more injury news. The Grizzlies were already down point guard Ja Morant and just two minutes into tonight's game, they lost Jaren Jackson Jr to a left ankle injury, leaving the Grizzlies without their top two players. It was a huge blow for Memphis to lose him and Atlanta was going to try and take advantage of his absence.

It was a tough first quarter on the offensive end for the Hawks, especially shooting from three. They were able to keep it close with Memphis early thanks to their ability to create havoc on the defensive end. Atlanta forced seven turnovers in the first quarter, including a pair of steals from Daniels, their defensive player of the year candidate. Memphis got 13 points from Bane and shot 54% from the field and 44% from three in the first quarter, leading 34-28. Atlanta was 0-8 from three in the opening quarter, but got solid starts from Daniels (eight points), Barlow (six points), and Onyeka Okongwu (six points and four rebounds). The big breakout on offense was going to come in the second quarter for the Hawks.

Garrison Matthews has fallen out of the rotation for the Hawks over the past few weeks, not playing in a game since the Hawks beat the Bucks on Feb. 7th. Matthews was brought in to help the Hawks fix their shooting issues in the quarter and he hit two quick threes to keep the Hawks in the game.

Garrison for 3 🎯 pic.twitter.com/FW5UwebvkS
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 4, 2025

Atlanta would go on to shoot 67% from the floor and 67% from three in the second quarter and used a big 16-5 run to end the quarter and take a five point lead into the break. The run was actually spurred on by rookie Zaccharie Risacher, who scored seven straight points in the run and 10 total in the quarter. Atlanta was rolling on that end heading into halftime.

The Hawks ended up shooting 54% from the field in the first half and 29% from three. Risacher led the team with 14 points, Okongwu had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Daniels had 12 points and two steals. The Hawks forced 13 turnovers in the first half. Memphis shot 47% from the field and 39% from three. Bane led the Grizzlies with 17 points

Terance Mann started for the Hawks in place of Barlow to begin the second half.

It was an ugly start to the third quarter for the Hawks on the defensive end. The Grizzlies hit eight of their first ten shots from the field, including two threes, and had 22 points in the first five minutes of the quarter. Quin Snyder called a timeout to try and get his team together and slow Memphis down. Atlanta's offense was keeping pace though, led by Risacher, who nailed two more threes to start the quarter.

Zacch is cooking and is up to 20 points 🧑‍🍳 pic.twitter.com/uI46jYMYdY
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 4, 2025

Desmond Bane continued to pumble the Hawks with his scoring, especially at the free throw line. The Hawks shot better percentages than Memphis in the third quarter, but Memphis decisively beat them at the free throw line. The Grizzlies were 12-13 from the line, while the Hawks were 1-5. Memphis was also able to cut down on their turnovers in the third quarter, only commitming one. Atlanta trailed by six going into the fourth quarter.

It did not take long for the Grizzlies to put the Hawks on the ropes in the fourth quarter. Memphis hit their first five shots to get the period started and led 120-107 with nine minutes left in the game. It was the biggest deficit in the game for the Hawks.

Atlanta kept battling, despite them getting pummeled on the glass and Memphis converting offensive rebounds into second chance points. Caris LeVert hit a big three with 4:26 left to cut the lead to just five points. An Onyeka Okongwu tip-in cut the lead to three points with 3:19 left and the Hawks had an opportunity to get a win on the road.

The Hawks turned it over after the timeout and the Edey dunked it for an easy basket to stretch the lead to 130-125. LeVert nailed a three on the other end to cut the lead to two and after a successful Hawks challenge gave them the ball back by overturning a foul call on Trae Young. LeVert tied the game with a basket 130-130. After a travel on Memphis, it looked like the Hawks would take the lead on the final possession. However, Young missed the shot though, giving the ball back to Memphis.

Vince Williams Jr shot one of the worst clutch shots you'll see this year, but Atlanta still could not take the lead when LeVert missed a three with 24 seconds remaining. The Grizzlies got the rebound and looked like they had the final shot. On the final play though, "The Great Barrier Thief" showed why he is considered a real contender for defensive player of the year and stripped the ball from Bane, getting it out to LeVert, who Euro-stepped his way to a game winning layup.

DYSON DANIELS STOLE THE WIN pic.twitter.com/oBbMbBjGa1
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) March 4, 2025

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