The Atlanta Hawks recorded a comfortable 124-115 win over the Golden State Warriors at State Farm Arena on Saturday in Stephen Curry’s absence. Curry suffered a pelvic contusion during Thursday’s win over the Toronto Raptors and the Warriors just came out flat without him against the Hawks.
Jimmy Butler was the Warriors’ leading scorer on the night, finishing with 25 points (7-15 FG), four rebounds, eight assists, and one steal. Moses Moody had a productive outing too, recording 20 points (7-13 FG), four rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block. Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga chipped in with 19 and 16 points respectively as well but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
For the Hawks, Trae Young led the way with 25 points (9-15 FG), five rebounds, 10 assists, and one steal. Onyeka Okongwu had a double-double as well, recording 22 points (10-16 FG), 12 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. Georges Niang, meanwhile, provided a huge boost off the bench with 23 points (8-11 FG), two rebounds, and two assists.
The Hawks have now won two in a row and snapped the Warriors’ two-game winning streak to drop them to 41-30 this season. Here are some of the big takeaways from this game.
A Slow Start Doomed The Warriors
It was crucial that the Warriors got off to a good start against the Hawks with Curry being out, but the exact opposite happened. They kept pace with the hosts in the early stages of the first quarter but completely lost their way after that.
The Warriors were only down 19-16 midway through the quarter but then allowed the Hawks to go on a 19-2 run. That run coincided with Butler going to the bench and it’s alarming how the team collapsed without him on the court. The Warriors were down 40-23 at the end of the first and the game was all but over at that point with Curry not available.
The Warriors went 9-24 (37.5%) from the field in the period as they struggled to get going offensively. They did manage to somewhat get their act together and trim the deficit at various points later in the game, but the Hawks managed to keep them at arm’s length and come away with the win.
The Hawks Put On An Offensive Clinic
The Warriors struggling a bit offensively without Curry wasn’t all too surprising but what was, was their defense being taken apart by the Hawks. The hosts went 49-86 (57.0%) from the field and 15-36 (41.7%) from beyond the arc on the night.
The Hawks gave the Warriors a taste of their own medicine with some beautiful ball movement. They had 37 assists and it was their fourth-most in a game this season. Young had 10 of them while Okongwu, Dyson Daniels, Caris LeVert, and Vit Krejci had six each.
While the Hawks did a fair bit of damage from beyond the arc in this game, they pounded the Warriors inside too. The hosts had 60 points in the paint as they took full advantage of the visitors’ lack of rim protection.
The Hawks just found success from everywhere on the court and that is quite concerning if you’re the Warriors. They haven’t been consistently great defensively lately and need to address some issues on that end of the floor.
Dyson Daniels Comes Out On Top In Battle Of DPOY Contenders
This clash between the Warriors and Hawks saw two Defensive Player of the Year contenders face off in Daniels and Draymond Green. Green had been making a strong case for the award in recent games with some strong individual showings but came out second best in this one.
Green finished with five points (2-7 FG), six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block against the Hawks. He was unable to influence the game defensively the way he is capable of, as evidenced by the numbers the Hawks put up. This game certainly hurt Green’s chances of winning his second DPOY.
Daniels, meanwhile, had 12 points (5-9 FG), 11 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. He helped the Hawks strangle the Warriors’ offense in the first and third quarters, in particular, to come away with this win.
You’d think if the Hawks, who are now 34-36 this season, had a better record, Daniels could have been leading the DPOY race by now. He remains in the hunt, but that poor team record might just end up leading him to miss out on the award.
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