The Hawks went into Oklahoma City down three starters, looking to snap their losing skid. They fought for many chances to do so, but the league-leading Thunder dealt them a 140-129 loss.
It’s the Hawks’ seventh straight loss.
The Hawks trailed the Thunder just 129-125 after a 3 on the wing from second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher with 4:36 to play. Risacher then blocked a second-chance layup attempt by Thunder guard Cason Wallace after Nickeil Alexander-Walker had blocked his cousin, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, three seconds before.
But the Hawks’ carelessness with the ball left them with just four points in the remaining four minutes. The Hawks went 1-of-5 from the floor and had four turnovers, allowing the Thunder to end the night on an 11-4 run.
Quick stats: Alexander-Walker led the Hawks in scoring with 30 points and added five assists. Onyeka Okongwu had 26 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
As a team, the Hawks shot 46.3% from 3.
Turning point
The Hawks led the Thunder 74-70 heading into halftime, but when the Thunder returned, they looked like the dominant team they have been for much of the season.
They opened the third quarter on a 9-1 run, forcing the Hawks to call a timeout. When the Hawks couldn’t cash in on their play after the timeout, the Thunder quickly tacked on three more on a transition 3 from Lu Dort.
The Thunder eventually outscored the Hawks 28-7 in the first five minutes of the third quarter to get out to a 98-83 lead.
Highlight play
The game was tied in the final seconds of the first quarter after a midrange jumper from the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But his cousin, Alexander-Walker, would not let him have the last shot of the frame.
With 3.4 seconds left in the quarter, rookie Asa Newell inbounded the ball to Alexander-Walker. The Hawks guard dribbled downhill with Alex Caruso looking to stop him. Alexander-Walker dribbled the ball with his right hand, then created some space with a behind-the-back dribble. Then, Alexander-Walker pulled up at halfcourt and heaved the ball toward the basket with his left hand.
The ball touched nothing but net as the buzzer sounded, and it gave the Hawks a 38-35 lead at the end of the first.
What they said
- “We knew they had the capability, and that’s something they’ve done consistently, is raise their level in the third quarter, and we got stagnant. I thought during that stretch we weren’t getting good shots, and we turned the ball over, and all of a sudden, you know, the lead bumped.” -- Hawks coach Quin Snyder via the FanDuel Sports broadcast on the Thunder’s third-quarter run.
- “There were a lot of things in this game that I think our guys can take forward. Some of the mistakes we made are things we can control. We helped from the strong side a couple times late, which ended up in 3s. You know, getting back in transition, we weren’t shifted quite as much to prevent some of those drives through the 45 whether it was (Jalen) Williams or Chet (Holmgren), those guys are good at that too.” -- Snyder via the broadcast on the Hawks’ fight back into the game.
- “We wanted to shoot 50 threes. We felt like, you know, they’re so good defensively. As you mentioned, during that stretch where we struggled, we didn’t have our eyes out, and we tried to challenge Holmgren and those guys at the rim, and that’s just a lower-percentage play. And again, we got through that. The ball changed sides, and we were able to drive again. And then we did have our eyes out, and that’s what generates those 3s, that and running.” Snyder on the team making 25 3-pointers.
Up next
The Hawks return home to host Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in a matinee game at State Farm Arena on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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