Oklahoma City's Big Night On Offense Results in 23 Three-Pointers And The Hawks Lose At Home 135-119

The Atlanta Hawks have gotten big wins this season as double-digit underdogs, but the Oklahoma City Thunder never really let them have a chance to do that tonight. The Thunder flexed their muscles especially on the offensive end, and showed why they are the No. 1 team in the Western Conference and NBA Title contenders. The Hawks fought hard and played a respectable game, but lost 135-119 to the Thunder tonight.

The biggest reason for the resounding win for OKC was their offense. The Thunder shot 51% from the field and 46% (23-50) from three. The Thunder had five players hit at least three three-point attempts and MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points. It was an effortless performance on that end of the floor and it was the second straight game where the Hawks allowed their opponents to get red hot from three and take over the game.

The Hawks shot a respectable 49% from the field and 42% from three against one of the best NBA defenses in history. Onyeka Okongwu had a big night with 23 points and 23 rebounds, while Caris LeVert had 23 points off of the bench. Atlanta had a good night on offense, but it was their defense that failed them tonight.

It was also a tale of four quarters. The Thunder won the 1st and 3rd quarters 77-43, but the Hawks won the 2nd and 4th quarters 76-58. Terrible starts in both the first and third quarters swung the game in favor of the Thunder.

This loss drops the Hawks to 27-33 and they are now 1-4 since the All-Star Break. Atlanta travels to Memphis on Monday night.

The Hawks kept with their same starting lineup. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu. Oklahoma City's first five on the floor was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Lou Dort, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren.

The Thunder opened the game on a 15-4 before Quin Snyder used a timeout to try and get his group together. The Thunder's defense, which is the best in the NBA by a good margin, held the Hawks to 2-7 from the field in the first few minutes as they raced out to the lead. The Hawks responded with a 7-2 run out of the timeout, but that was not enough. Oklahoma City responded and they were getting a lot of help due to the Hawks turning the ball over.

Atlanta ended up turning the ball over seven times in the first quarter, and that combined with them going 2-7 from three, the Hawks found themselves trailing by 17 after the first quarter. The Thunder were shooting 62% from the field and 59% (7-12) from three, while the Hawks were only 44% from the field and 29% from three. The only bright spot was that Young recorded his career assist No. 4,500.

Three Mann! pic.twitter.com/HbMZvoiM2l
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 1, 2025

The second quarter was the complete opposite however for the Hawks and they found a way to get right back in the game. The Thunder were still shooting lights out, but the Hawks offense was just as good and despite trailing by as many as 20 points in the first quarter, Atlanta used a 14-0 run at the end of the quarter to cut the lead to 71-64 going into the break. Okongwu scored 10 points in the quarter and Atlanta scored 41 total, shooting 59% from the field and 60% from three. Atlanta also committed just two turnovers in the quarter, down from seven in the first.

At the half, Atlanta was shooting 51% from the field and 47% from three. They had four players in double-digits, led by Okongwu's 14. OKC shot 56% from the field and 50% from three in the first half. They had three players in double-figures, led by Isaiah Hartenstein and Isaiah Joe, who each had 12.

Back-to-back And-1s for Big O 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/qz12qZV3us
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 1, 2025

Coming out of the half, Young hit his first field goals of the game, nailing two threes to give him 10 points, but turnovers continued to be an issue, as the Hawks had four in just the first few minutes of the game.

Just like the first quarter, the Hawks allowed Oklahoma City to have a hot shooting quarter while their offense went cold. Thunder, led by 12 points each from Dort and Gilgeous-Alexander in the quarter, shot 52% from the field and 60% (9-15) from three. The Hawks had their worst offensive quarter of the game, scoring only 20 points and shooting 32% from the field. OKC led by as many as 27 points in the quarter and that huge run gave them a big cushion heading into the final quarter.

Much like the first and third quarter were similar tonight, the fourth quarter had a lot of similiarities to the second quarter. Atlanta was able to turn a 26-point deficit into an 11-point deficit with 4:40 to go, but the Hawks could not make a serious run to try and threaten the Thunder's lead. OKC came into Atlanta and got a 135-119 win on the back of their offense, which was spectacular for most of the night. The loss drops Atlanta to 27-33 and they will have two days off before they travel to Memphis for a game on Monday night.

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