Houston Rockets Come Back to Beat Hawks 132-126

Recap

It was all so simple just a few minutes ago. The Atlanta Hawks were rolling over the lowly Houston Rockets. The Hawks (most notably Trae Young) wasted no time to start the game. They scored 69 points in the first half and were on the edge of clearing the bench after exceeding 100 points in the third quarter.

However, a barrage of three-pointers in the fourth quarter propelled the Rockets into a surprising victory. The Rockets outscored the Hawks 44-25 in the final period. It's yet another collapse during crunchtime by the Hawks.

Eric Gordon led the way with 32 points. The Rockets shot 41.3% from deep, with 7 of their 19-made three-pointers falling in the fourth.

Obviously, the offense wasn't a problem for the Hawks tonight. Trae Young was magnificent. Young tallied 41 points and 9 assists. No surprise, the ever-steady duo of Clint Capela and John Collins combined for 26 points and 23 rebounds.

❄️ 𝗜𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗲 ❄️ pic.twitter.com/ZVwGzhbXmy
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) December 14, 2021

Another silver lining from this terrible loss is the strong performance of the role players. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot continues to thrive in his starting role. Perhaps more importantly, the bench is finding its groove. Cam Reddish, Danilo Gallinari, and Lou Williams scored 12 points each.

Post Game

After the game, Hawks coach Nate McMillan said, "I thought they outworked us in that fourth quarter. When we did force misses, they was able to get second and third opportunities. You know, 44 points in a quarter that's... I just can't explain it. That's just getting outworked. That's no defense."

Young shared his coach's disappointment in the blown lead. "I think we're complaining to the refs too much, and they're (Rockets) just attacking us in the fourth quarter. We really just have to be better. We scored enough to win tonight. Just didn't get enough stops."

Now the Hawks travel to the Sunshine State to play the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. We have some exciting content coming out later this week in addition to gameday coverage. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news and analysis.

Hawks Stats

Trae Young - 41 PTS, 9 AST

John Collins - 14 PTS, 7 REB

Clint Capela - 12PTS, 16 REB

Rockets Stats

Eric Gordon - 32 PTS, 2 AST

D.J. Augustin - 22 PTS, 2 REB

Jae'San Tate - 15 PTS, 4 REB

Recommended For You

Enes Kanter Freedom Posts Video with Dominique Wilkins

Snakes, Waffles, Hidden Doors: Kobe's Final Game in Atlanta

Trae Young Explains Number 11

Like SI Hawks on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Hawks news!