NBA News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Atlanta Hawks Handle Orlando Magic 111-99

Originally posted on FanNation All Hawks | By Pat Benson | Last updated 12/15/21

Recap

The Atlanta Hawks entered the game as heavy favorites and exceeded expectations. It's no secret that the Orlando Magic are at the beginning stages of a rebuild. But they drew the short straw tonight as they were scheduled to play the Hawks coming off two distasteful losses.

Trae Young and John Collins led the way with a combined 49 points. Even better, the team improved in some areas. Yes, they lost the fourth quarter again. However, the Hawks never came close to surrendering the lead. Credit goes to their defensive effort and a strong showing from the bench mob.

Lou Williams, Cam Reddish, and Danilo Gallinari all scored in double-digits. It was good enough to overcome Trae Young and Kevin Huerter shooting a combined 1-12 from deep (that will never happen again).

Another sign that it wasn't in the stars tonight for the Magic was the struggles of Cole Anthony. The second-year player shot 3-14 and scored only 7 points. It was his lowest-scoring game of the season.

It wasn't just Anthony struggling on offense. The Magic's shooting percentages were abysmal tonight - 38.9 FG% and 28.6% 3PT. Neither team had a tangible advantage in the paint, fast-break points, fouls, or rebounds. The difference was the Hawks knocking down shots and forcing the Magic into taking low-percentage looks.

Post Game

Hawks coach Nate McMillan said, "I liked our communication on the defensive end of the floor. I thought offensively, we had some movement, and we were pretty consistent for four quarters."

Still soaked in sweat, Young entered the media room with a fiery attitude. The Hawks point guard said tonight "felt like a must-win game for us." The team leader ran into the locker room during the third quarter with a neck cramp before quickly returning to the floor to finish the job.

"We knew we let one get away last game, so we needed to come out here and take care of business. I like the mindset and approach we had today. We just came out and took care of business."

In contrast to Young, Collins kept his effortlessly cool demeanor. "It's important for us to take some pride on the defensive end. Obviously, offensively we have to fix some things, but we don't have an issue scoring. So, we just tried to lock in one end and it paid off."

After a quick trip to the Sunshine State, the Hawks are heading back home. On Friday night, they host the Denver Nuggets in a primetime matchup. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news and analysis.