The Atlanta Hawks were one score away from breaking the Brooklyn Nets’ nine-game winning streak. On Dec. 28, the Hawks battled the Nets who have turned their season around following the early-season firing of head coach Steve Nash. With Jacque Vaughn now serving as the head coach, the Nets have broken through the drama that plagued the team during the first few weeks of the season and now appear to be a contender in the Eastern Conference.
But while the Nets are trending up, the Hawks are currently stagnant and fighting to get beyond the .500 mark. Following a dismal performance against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 27, the Hawks returned to State Farm Arena in Atlanta and put up a tough fight against the hottest team in the NBA.
Without Trae Young who sat out of the game due to an injury, the Hawks relied on the leadership and scoring ot Dejounte Murray who led the team with 24 points and John Collins who scored 21 points.
After leading the Nets by double-digits in the first-half, the Hawks would relinquish their lead in the third quarter as Kevin Durant (26 points) and Kyrie Irving (28 points) would both take turns scoring at will.
However, the Hawks would erase their own double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter behind the play of Murray, Onyeka Okongwu, and timely shooting from Bogdan Bogdanovic.
In the final minutes of the game, both teams would go back-and-forth, tying the game during several possessions. But after a missed free-throw by Murray, the Hawks trailed the Nets by one.
Following a miss of a three-point shot by Irving, the Hawks had an opportunity to win the game with about seven seconds remaining. Although the team had two timeouts, the Hawks would continue to play as Murray took a three-point shot as Irving and Durant put their hands up in defense. Murray would miss the shot allowing the Nets to push their winning streak to 10 games.
Hawks coach Nate McMillan shared his thoughts on allowing his team to attempt a shot without calling timeout during the final seconds of the game.
“I wanted our guys to go,” McMillan said during the Hawks post-game press conference. “You want to catch them in transition and see if you can get down before their defense gets set. In situations like that, I’ve allowed our guys to go so that they can’t get the defensive team out on the floor. And it didn’t work out for us.”
The Hawks will next face-off against the L.A. Lakers on Dec. 30.
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