The Atlanta Hawks’ return from the All-Star break didn’t quite go as planned as they suffered a 108-90 home loss to the Miami Heat. The Hawks will try to pick up the pieces once again on Saturday when they finish off a back-to-back against the Orlando Magic.
Atlanta shot just 38 percent from the field while the Heat knocked down 17 three-pointers in the blowout. The Hawks trailed by as many as 26 points which left players and coaches searching for answers after the game.
“The energy was good, we just need to sharpen some things up,” Kent Bazemore said after the game. “We just didn’t hit our shots and they shot the ball really well.”
Orlando’s return from the break didn’t go well either as they suffered a 112-103 loss to Portland Trail Blazers. Atlanta has won two of the three meetings with the Magic this season but Orlando will have a bit of a different look on Saturday after trading Serge Ibaka to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Terrence Ross.
The Hawks picked up Erson Ilyasova from the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the deadline. Inlyasova played just over 16 minutes while finishing with nine points in Friday’s loss to the Heat. Thabo Sefolosha also returned after missing eight games with a groin injury. Sefolosha played 21 minutes off the bench and finished with two points and four rebounds.
Atlanta will also get a boost on Saturday with the return of point guard Dennis Schröder who missed Friday’s game while serving a one-game suspension for failure to report after he was delayed from returning from Germany following the All-Star break.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, February 25, 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Philips Arena
TV: Fox Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Radio: 92.9 “The Game” FM