Hawks use fourth quarter blitz to down Spurs, 108-100

After an eventful day surrounding the Atlanta Hawks, basketball was indeed played Tuesday night. With the John Collins situation as the backdrop, Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce’s hand was forced into uncharted waters in the young season as the club took on an experienced Spurs group.

As such, Atlanta went with a starting lineup of Trae Young, Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, Jabari Parker and Alex Len.

Parker did his best Collins impersonation and dunked on the first possession.

In a slow-paced start, the Hawks led the Spurs 9-8 with 6:28 to go in the first. The slow pace continued, with the score being tied at 18 with 1:57 remaining in the quarter. Young had six assists on the Hawks’ first seven field goals.

The Hawks led 22-21 after one. Young had one point and six assists, while Parker had eight first-quarter points, including three dunks.

The Spurs carried a 31-28 lead under the seven-minute mark in the second. The slow-paced action continued, as the Spurs held a one-point lead at the half, 45-44.

Young struggled with his shot in his return to the lineup, going 0-for-8 from the field in the first half. Parker did his best to fill Collins’ shoes, scoring ten points and grabbing four rebounds in 15 first-half minutes. DeRozan and Mills both had ten points at the break for San Antonio.

The score was knotted at 56 at the 7:49 mark in the third, with the teams getting off to a little quicker start offensively in the second half.

An 8-0 run put the Spurs ahead 72-63 with under four to play in the third, giving them the first substantial lead of the game. San Antonio maintained that lead, heading into the fourth leading 78-70.

Atlanta bridged an 11-0 run between the last moments of the third and early moments of the fourth to get back in the lead at 79-78. Young was responsible for the first nine points of the fourth (two threes and an assist to Hunter for three). The Spurs got back in front before Huerter dunked on the break to make it 88-87.

Carter got an and one shortly after to increase the Atlanta lead.

A 14-3 run started by the Huerter dunk put the Hawks up seven with 4:15 remaining.

The Spurs clawed to within four with a DeMar DeRozan free throw with four minutes left. Young hit a three on the ensuing Atlanta possession to make it 100-93 with 3:47 to go. Bryn Forbes hit a three to make it a five-point game with 2:35 remaining. Young hit another three to make it 104-96 with 2:11 left. Young got to the rim for an easy layup to make it a ten-point game with under two minutes. The Hawks held on from there, winning 108-100.

Young led the way in his return for the Hawks with 29 points and 13 assists. Parker finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in an impressive debut to the starting lineup. Reddish had his best offensive game so far as a pro, scoring 12 points and going 3-for-3 from three-point range. De’Andre Hunter had 16 points, going 6-for-12 from the field.

DeRozan had 22 points for the Spurs, while Forbes had 17. The Hawks move to 3-3 and will be back in action tomorrow night from State Farm Arena for a matchup with the Chicago Bulls.