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Too Little Too Late. Orlando Magic Beat Atlanta Hawks 104-98

Originally posted on FanNation All Hawks | By Pat Benson | Last updated 12/22/21

Recap

Maybe we should be happy that the game was even played. The contest was not certain to happen this afternoon when Kevin Huerter joined six other Atlanta Hawks players in the NBA Health & Safety Protocols. The Orlando Magic were without 10+ players due to injuries and illness.

Both teams were sailing in unchartered waters leading up to tonight's contest. The front offices in Atlanta and Orlando spent the last 48 hours scrambling to quarantine players and scrounge up as many G-Leaguers as possible to compete. What we got was a bizarre game where the tanking team won, and the contender lost ground in the playoff seeding.

The shorthanded Magic were led by the promising rookie, Franz Wagner. The former Wolverine (shoutout Lauren Jbara) scored 25 points on 24 shot attempts. The Magic struggled offensively but ate up the underprepared Hawks on the defensive end. They picked up 11 steals and held the Hawks to less than 100 points for just the second time this season.

Much to the delight of Hawks fans, John Collins and Cam Reddish finally got their looks on offense. Collins buoyed the team with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Reddish caught fire and never cooled off, scoring a career-high 36 points.

Additionally, Bogdan Bogdanovic made his return, and Lance Stephenson made his debut. These two players making an appearance tonight was a perfect microcosm of the Hawks current health status - players returning from injuries and extreme irregularities due to COVID-19. Let's hope the team's prognosis improves in both areas.

Post-Game Interviews

After the game, Hawks coach Nate McMillan refused to make any excuses for his team. When asked about the challenges coming in tonight, McMillan reminded the press that the Magic were in a similar situation.

"That team was playing in the same situation that we were playing in. A lot of guys out, and I thought they had a better flow, a better rhythm. They brought the intensity for 48 minutes and controlled the game from start to finish.

When asked about the scoring outburst by Reddish, McMillan gave praise before pivoting back to his team philosophy.

"I thought he was aggressive offensively. He was able to get a rhythm in the second half, and we put the ball in his hands, and he made some plays. But again, one guy is not going to be able to do it. Even when we get our guys back, I've been saying this all season long. One guy can't do it. Two guys can't do it. It's got to be a collective effort on both ends of the floor."

The Hawks are scheduled to play the 76ers in Philadelphia. Sadly, there will be no Trae Young, Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, or Kevin Huerter. We will have the scouting report for you tomorrow morning. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com for breaking news and analysis.