Hawks Force Overtime, But Come Up Short In Orlando vs the Magic
Atlanta battled and fought until the bitter end tonight vs the Magic, but they came up just short tonight vs Orlando.
Atlanta was coming off of their worst performance of the season on Friday vs the Pacers and needed to start off strong and get a win over an Orlando team that was missing starters like Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr..
In the end, free throw shooting (58.6%) and three-point shooting (9-30) doomed the Hawks tonight. Orlando star Paolo Banchero took over in overtime and showed why he is one of the ascending talents in the NBA. A poor shooting 2nd half was also a key factor in the loss tonight.
So how did the game unfold tonight in Orlando?
The Hawks had no injury questions coming into today's game and the starting lineup remained the same. Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela were the first five on the floor for Atlanta.
Jalen Suggs, Chuma Okeke, Caleb Houstan, Paolo Banchero, and Goga Bitadze started for the Magic.
The game could not have started off much worse for Atlanta. The Magic began the game on a 16-3 run and it was looking like another blowout loss was imminent for Atlanta.
To their credit, Atlanta fought back and in a big way.
Dejounte Murray vs the Magic
Atlanta would go on to hit 10 straight shots in the quarter and the offense was having an easy time against one of the NBA's best defenses. Orlando led 32-28, but the Hawks responded with a 25-16 run after going down big early in the game. Hawks forward Garrison Matthews sustained an injury in the first quarter and did not return to this game. It was said to be a left ankle sprain sprain.
The momentum that Atlanta created after that big start from Orlando was sustained through the second quarter. Atlanta outscored the Magic 32-19 in the quarter and opened the lead to nine points going into the half. All of this was done with Jalen Johnson picking up three early fouls in this game.
At the half, Atlanta led 60-51 and was shooting 56.8% from the field, but just 28.6% from three. Orlando was shooting 43.8% from the field and 38.9% from three.
Murray had a great first half for the Hawks, scoring 18 points. Young had 13 and Banchero had 15 points and five rebounds for Orlando.
After a poor start to the game, Atlanta snatched up the momentum and looked like they were going to win comfortably if they kept playing well.
The third quarter was a different story. Instead of continuing the momentum of the first half, the Hawks ceded the momentum to Orlando and things changed quickly.
Paolo Banchero vs the Hawks
The Magic won the third quarter 34-18 and led the Hawks 85-78 going into the final quarter.
The final frame of the game started off much better for the Hawks and at a timeout with 8:28 left in the game, they held an 89-86 lead.
After Orlando took a 100-93 lead with 3:56 left, it looked like the Magic were going to cruise to victory, but Atlanta had one more run in them.
One huge development that happened in this game was Suggs fouling out. He was tasked with guarding both members of the Hawks backcourt and is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA. It made things easier on the Hawks offense without him in the game.
The Hawks cut the lead to one point after an and-one from Murray.
After a bucket from Orlando, the Magic led 105-101, but Young nailed a jumper to make it 105-103 with 48 seconds left. The Hawks needed to lock in and make something happen on the defensive end and they did just that. Magic guard Cole Anthony turned the ball over and Atlanta had a chance to tie it.
Young drove the ball and dished it to a cutting Saddiq Bey and he dunked it to tie the game with 18 seconds left. That was plenty of time though for the Magic and you knew that they were going to get the ball in the hands of their young star.
Banchero looked like he was going to take the winning shot, but Johnson played good defense and forced a three-point shot from Caleb Houstan who missed it and we would be going to overtime.
The free throw shooting in the game was brutal for both teams. Atlanta shot 17-29 (58.6%) from the line and the Magic shot 14-22 (63.6).
Atlanta forced overtime though and had a chance to steal a win on the road.
Magic forward Paolo Banchero
As good as the finish to the game was for the Hawks in the fourth quarter, overtime was a disaster.
Banchero may have passed up on the final shot of the game, but he took over in overtime. He outscored the Hawks by himself 8-5 and Orlando won the game with not much drama in overtime. It was a 117-110 win for Orlando and the second straight loss for the Hawks, a loss that sent them to 14-21.
For the game, Atlanta shot 46.2% from the field and 30% from three. Young had 31 points and nine assists, while Murray finished with 24 points. Capela was the only starter that did not score in double-figures.
Banchero had 35 points and 10 rebounds while Caleb Houstan had a career night, scoring 25 points and nailing seven three-pointers. Suggs had 16 points and Mo Wagner and Cole Anthony got in double-figures off the bench.
Poor offense, free-throw shooting, and three-point shooting gave way to Atlanta losing this game. The defense did enough to where a team with an offense as good as Atlanta's should win.
Hawks head coach Quin Snyder singled out the free throw shooting after the game:
"We have good free throw shooters and we missed some free throws that I thought left some points on the board and the third quarter we had some challenges with our execution and not seeing the ball go in.
"Free throw shooting, I have a lot of confidence in our guys to... Clint has shot it great, Trae and DJ (Murray) are two of the best in the league and they are both very confident in those situations and sometimes you just miss some, it is what it is. You don't go up to the line... nobody is nervous at the line, those guys are confident and sometimes the ball does not always go in."
This loss sends the Hawks to 14-21 ahead of a matchup with the 76ers on Wednesday in Atlanta. It was a good sign that they fought back after going down so early, especially considering how Friday night went, but they did not have enough in the tank to finish it. The losses keep mounting for Atlanta.
Follow Jackson on X here: @jackoncaudell
Follow Hawks coverage on Facebook here: All Hawks
