Hawks Get Blown Out in Best vs. Best Showdown

By: Aryan Javan


The Hawks were humbled Wednesday night in Oracle Arena as they fell to the Warriors 114-95. Golden State looked unstoppable. They controlled the game from start to finish. The Hawks were able to stay in the ball game due to Golden State turnovers in the first half and second chance opportunities (Hawks rank dead last in this category via ESPN). But the Warriors pulled away big in the second half.

Golden State controlled the pace with their fast break game and excellent passing (39 assists). They shot a red-hot 46.7 percent from the three point line! Golden State's bench also chipped in with 50 points, led by Andre Iguodala with 21 points. It was a dunk fest for the Warriors as they just bullied the Hawks in the paint. The Warriors were without their second-leading scorer, Klay Thompson (sprained ankle). It did not seem to affect them. Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green both stepped up scoring 25 and 18, respectively.

"What I take away from it is the number players who made an impact," said Golden State Head Coach, Steve Kerr.

Atlanta had won the previous meaning between the two in Atlanta, but just were simply outplayed in this one. They had one of the worst shooting nights of the season, shooting 35.6 percent. It was just one of those nights. They had good looks but could not buy a bucket. The Hawks looked out of their game the whole night and were not able to settle in. Kyle Korver's absence (broken nose) was definitely noticeable. The spacing and normal passing was just not there. This is their fifth game out of the six-game-road trip. They wrap up the Western road trip at Oklahoma City.

"Any time you're playing teams with better records in the league, you're going to be tested, you're going to be challenged," commented Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, "and you kind of want to rise to that. You want to meet that test. Tonight wasn't our best showing."