The Hawks came out sluggish in the first quarter and fell behind to the Magic 23-21 shooting 38.1% from the field and looked genuinely disinterested in running any of their offensive sets. Their best stretch came when they got seven quick points on three Magic turnovers early in the quarter, but after that they were unable to create much offense. While the starters struggled, the bench provided a spark behind Ivan Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, and Anthony Morrow, which helped them to stay close.
The second quarter started with the same bench unit on the floor, who continued to play well, but the Hawks were able to regain the lead when Jeff Teague and Al Horford returned to the floor. The defense picked up, and they were once again able to force turnovers and get out in transition to jump-start their stagnant offense. Atlanta took the lead on a Jeff Teague three that put them up 28-27, and they extended that lead to 34-27, before Orlando made a run to re-take the lead at 37-35 with just under four minutes to play. The Hawks finished the half on a 6-0 run from that point to take a 41-35 lead in one of the worst halves of basketball one could imagine. Teague led the team with nine points and four assists, while Al had seven points and five boards, and Zaza had six points and six rebounds.