The Atlanta Hawks fell to the Brooklyn Nets 132-128 in overtime Wednesday night, as the Nets clinched the season series 2-1.
Trae Young led the way for the Hawks with team-highs of 28 points and 14 assists in 44 minutes. When asked about upcoming film sessions, the third-year All-Star immediately pointed to turnovers.
“For me, I always look at my turnovers first … just got to go back and look at what I could’ve done better,” Young said.
Cam Reddish scored 24 off the bench in 35 minutes after being listed as questionable this afternoon. The second-year pro talked about positive things the team learned following their final game against Brooklyn this season.
“We can play with anybody. We also [have to] find some ways to win at the end,” Reddish said. “Obviously, they’re a tough cover, but I just think we have to find ways to learn.”
De’Andre Hunter and John Collins each scored 21 points, with Collins adding eight rebounds as well. Collins talked about the difficulties matching up with such a talented team.
“It was tough before, obviously makes it tough now with three high-caliber guys, high-caliber scorers on the team,” Collins said. “I feel like we match up against them well, but at the end of the day, guarding them is a different story.”
Durant led all scorers with 32 points followed by James Harden’s 31 points, eight rebounds and 15 assists and Kyrie Irving’s 26 points and seven assists. Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce knows that the game presented a golden opportunity for the team to learn.
“It’s a tough team down the stretch,” Pierce said. “I think that’s a good test for our guys against a really good team and a team that’s going to be there at the end at some point. It’s a good learning lesson for our guys to value every possession.”
Both teams favored the paint tonight: the Nets scored 74 points in the paint to the Hawks’ 58. However, the Hawks noticeably failed to value possessions in transition, and Brooklyn enjoyed a 23-3 advantage on fast break points.
The two teams battled neck and neck, and a seven-point Nets lead was the largest either team held (the Hawks’ largest was six).
However, the game taught us a number of things. For one, the Hawks can compete with any team in the league. Any given night can hold surprising results, but tonight’s opened the eyes of many.
The Hawks have Thursday off before they face Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards Friday.
