After a 119-101 loss to Toronto and a 129-120 loss to Charlotte, Atlanta fell hard to Orlando 124-108 at State Farm Arena. The Hawks allowed opposing teams to cross the century mark three nights straight with Pascal Siakem notching 33 points for the Raptors, Kemba Walker’s 37 lead the Hornets, and Nikola Vucevic guided the Magic with a double-double (19 points, 12 rebounds).
At the very least, Saturday’s match was competitive, with each team besting the other after each quarter to end the game with a nine-point difference. But today’s match was all Orlando all-night long.
The game started with promise for the Hawks. Taurean Prince stopped and hit a step-back jumper to get their first points. Then, Trae Young launched a long bounce pass to Kevin Huerter who went up hard for the two-handed dunk. Just a few minutes later, John Collins came out of nowhere and swatted away what looked to be a simple dunk for the Magic. Things were pretty even in the first (quarter) but it’s the second that would seal the fate for the Hawks.
The Magic outscored the Hawks 37-23 in the second quarter and kept that momentum to dominate the third.
Vucevic led seven players with double figures for the magic. One of the seven, D.J. Augustin, 14 points and 10 assists. Jonathan Isaac did his part contributing 17 points but impressed even more with a monster five blocks. Handling business on offense and defense on top of shooting 89.3% from the charity stripe will get the job done every time.
Atlanta will have Monday off before hosting LeBron & Co. Tuesday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena. The Hawks will be looking to end their three-game home skid.
-Jon J.
Photo: Hakim Wright