The Atlanta Hawks lost to the Dallas Mavericks 122-116 on Wednesday night
They shot well across the board tonight, 50% from the field and 37% from three.
John Collins scored 35 points, tying his career-high, and gathered 12 rebounds but didn’t take any free-throws. He expressed his frustration following his career-night.
“It’s been a recurring theme the last couple of games. I honestly feel like it’s because of how athletic I am, it’s hard for the referees to judge or judge what’s a foul, what’s not a foul when I’m going to the air,” Collins said.
Trae Young faced a unique defensive set tonight, as the Mavericks consistently picked him up right when he crossed halfcourt. While he added 21 points and nine assists, the Hawks’ primary ball-handler was “kinda surprised” by what Rick Carlisle’s team did on defense.
“I haven’t gotten face-guarded like that in a long, long time. Just them trapping me as soon as I get the ball in just to get it out of my hands,” Young said. “So that was a good learning lesson for us.”
Another bright spot for the Hawks tonight: Kevin Huerter, who mirrored Young’s 21 points but also dished out ten assists. After the game, he talked about his generosity with the basketball after reaching 500 career assists.
“It’s a big part of my game, it always has been. The ability to find guys and make plays for others, get downhill,” Huerter said. “A game like this where their sole job and sole purpose is to take Trae out of the game, I think it was definitely a game where I was able to showcase that.”
Rounding out the starters, Clint Capela finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Only two players scored off the bench for the Hawks, led by Danilo Gallinari, who contributed a season-high 19 points in just his eighth game of the season.
“He’s coming along … He’s productive. When he’s out there, he’s going to get to the free-throw line and he’s going to space the floor, and he’s a high-percentage shooter,” Pierce said.
On the winning side, Luka Dončić put up 27 points, eight rebounds and 14 assists. He hit crucial free throws late in the fourth to seal the game and win the matchup between him and Young, who will always have a connection through the infamous 2018 NBA Draft night trade.
Kristpas Porziņģis added 24 points and 11 rebounds, including a big tip-in off a missed Dončić layup to extend the Dallas lead to five points with just under 32 seconds to go.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 off the bench in 30 minutes and sealed the game with a pair of free-throws.
The Hawks now move to 10-11 and will face the Utah Jazz Thursday night at State Farm Arena.
