Four Big Takeaways From The Atlanta Hawks' Blowout Loss Against The San Antonio Spurs

The Hawks lose in a unmotivated performance at home.

Dec 19, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) drives to the basket against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks looked to bounce back after a rough comeback loss against Eastern Conference rival Charlotte Hornets in Trae Young's return. The Hawks would take on the San Antonio Spurs, where things didn't necessarily go as planned: Young would sit out due to knee injury management, and the rest of the team looked out of sorts on both ends of the court.

Final pic.twitter.com/YBmW56JzjW

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 20, 2025

1. No energy from the start

Dec 19, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

To start the game, the Hawks looked disinterested, turning the ball over five times in the first quarter and shooting an abysmal 30% from the field and 20% from three-point range. The poor play would be apparent on the defensive end as well, as the Hawks would fall behind by as many as 13 points in the first quarter and 38 points in the second half, as they were held under 100 points for the entire game.

2. Offense looked horrible for most of the game

Hawks down 102-72 at the end of the third.

They've been outclassed in pretty much every way.

— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) December 20, 2025

For much of the game, the Hawks didn't look particularly engaged or consistent offensively, shooting extremely poorly until the third quarter. In the first half, the Hawks didn't have much of an answer offensively outside of that, besides a small third-quarter 8-0 run, but didn't have it going on the other end to continue cutting into the lead. Atlanta finished the game shooting 40% from the field, 25% from the three, and 75% from the free throw line, and gave up 15 points off turnovers.

3. Defense was lackluster

Dec 19, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) shoots against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The main reason for the Hawks' loss tonight was that they couldn't stop the Spurs from getting what they wanted inside the paint, as the Spurs finished with 60 points in the paint. Any time a team jumps out by nearly 40 points in a game, you know there wasn't much effort to get stops defensively, and the Spurs shot the ball efficiently, shooting 56% from the field and 36% from three-point range.

4. Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker lead the way again

Tough pass tough finish pic.twitter.com/QedLpuCKVo

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 20, 2025

Honestly, the only real bright spots for Atlanta the last few games have been none other than Johnson and Alexander-Walker, as they both find themselves being the most highest scoring for the team. For the game, Johnson finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and one steal on 54/100/100 shooting splits and Alexander-Walker finished the game with a team high 23 points, two rebounds, four assists, but struggled shooting the ball compared to last game, as his shooting splits tonight were 38/77/20%.