Hawks vs Warriors Final Score: Atlanta's Offense Carves Up Golden State's Defense to Hand Them a 124-115 Loss

Atlanta, GA- The Hawks had not played in three days, but they showed no signs of rust against the Golden State Warriors tonight at home. While the Warriors were without Stephen Curry, they came into tonight's game as winners of nine of their last ten games and have one of the NBA's best perimeter defenses. Given both of those things, this is one of the Hawks most impressive wins since the All-Star Break.

The offense was the story tonight. Atlanta shot 57% from the field and 42% from three. Atlanta outscored the Warriors 60-44 in the paint, had 49 bench points, and outrebounded the Warriors 46-38. There were a few different standouts tonight on that end of the floor. Trae Young led the way with 25 points and 10 assists, Onyeka Okongwu had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, and Georges Niang came off the bench to score 23 points and hit six of his nine three-point shots. Atlanta did have 14 turnovers in the game, but Golden State did not capitalize on them and the Hawks shot the ball well enough where it did not seem to matter. Atlanta never seemed to be out of rhythm on that end of the floor and that is the biggest takeaway from the win.

Golden State's offense was obviously missing Curry tonight and had to lean on Jimmy Butler, who played well. Butler finished with 25 points and eight assists tonight and Golden State got solid games from Moses Moody (20 points) and Jonathan Kuminga (16 points) off the bench.

This win moves Atlanta to 34-36 this season and they continue to tighten their grip on the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, while also leaving open the very distinct possibility of moving up to No. 6 if everything broke their way down the stretch of the season. They will be back on the court tomorrow night against the Philadelphia 76ers, in what should be a must win for the Hawks given the current state of the Sixers at this point in the season.

Let's breakdown Atlanta's win tonight over the Warriors.

Atlanta's starting five remain unchanged, with Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu seeing the floor first.

It was a hot start for both teams in the opening quarter. The Hawks came out and hit 9 of their first 13 shots, including going 4-6 from three and led 24-16 at the first timeout of the game. Young had eight points and three assists.

The Hawks offense did not slow down either. They were getting what they wanted in the paint and from three while the Warriors did not have much of an answer on offense without Steph Curry. Atlanta scored 20 points in the paint and shot 4-9 from three, taking a 40-23 lead going into the second quarter. Atlanta shot 65% from the field and 44% from three to start. Young had eight points and four assists, Risacher had eight points, and Dyson Daniels had seven points, three rebounds, and three assists.

The Hawks continued to pound the paint in the second quarter, but the Warriors offense started to show signs of life thanks to former lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga came off the bench and had 12 points in the second quarter, leading the Warriors. Golden State shot the ball much better (54%) and did not let the game slip away from them in the first half, which was how it appeared to be going in the first 12 minutes.

Okongwu has been flying under the radar since he became the full-time starter for the Hawks and he had fantastic first half. He scored 13 points in the second quarter (6-8 shooting) while also having three rebounds and three assists. The Hawks scored 20 more points in the paint and led Golden State 69-57 at the half. In the first half, Atlanta shot 60% from the field and 33% from three. They outscored Golden State 40-22 in the paint and had 23 assists compared to the Warriors 11.

The Hawks bench was the story in the third quarter. Atlanta outscored Golden State 29-24 and 15 of those points came from the bench. Georges Niang was 3-4 from three and had nine points and LeVert had four points.

Atlanta's defense remained strong in the third quarter as well. They forced five Golden State turnovers, which turned into eight points on the offensive end, and they held Golden State to 33% shooting in the quarter. The thing that saved the Warriors was their three point shooting (5-11). Atlanta took a 98-81 lead into the final quarter and were looking to knock off one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

Niang stayed hot to start the fourth quarter, pouring on three more three-pointers, getting the Hawks lead up to 22 points at the beginning of the quarter. The Warriors were not done though. They went on a run to get the lead to 12 points with five minutes remaining and the Hawks were going to have to earn their victory.

With under two minutes to go, Moses Moody hit his second straight basket to cut the Hawks lead to eight with 1:54 left and the game was still not over.

While it was sloppy at times, the Hawks finished the game off and ended it with an nine point win over one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

Additional Links

Hawks vs Warriors: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Why the Atlanta Hawks Will Be The Toughest Play-In Matchup For Either the Cavaliers or The Celtics

Which Teams Should Atlanta Hawks Fans Be Rooting For Today (3/20)?