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For the second straight game, the Atlanta Hawks took the floor without No. 4 pick De’Andre Hunter, who was sidelined with a sore knee, on Thursday evening in Las Vegas. After 40 minutes of action, the Hawks fell to 1-3 in the desert with a 76-71 loss to the Washington Wizards.
The day began with a pair of threes from Charlie Brown Jr. and Tahjere McCall, giving the Hawks a brief lead.
@charliekbrownjr pic.twitter.com/TwPIF662rU
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 11, 2019
After the Wizards counter-punched, Atlanta continued to throw long-range haymakers, with McCall, Matt Mooney and Jordan Sibert combining for a 9-0 run from beyond the arc. That actually became a 14-0 overall run by the Hawks to close out the period, giving Atlanta a 22-13 lead after ten minutes of action.
it's a no from amine, dawg. pic.twitter.com/wIpTEkDNfP
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 11, 2019
Washington didn’t score for more than seven full minutes and, well, that was on-brand for Summer League basketball. The first half was not marked with impressive offense and, at the halftime break, the Hawks held a 34-32 edge despite only 31 percent shooting.
There were some nice moments, including a flash from Bruno Fernando.
Bruno Fernando rotates for the steal in the half-court. Hasn’t had consistent results on offense but has looked good in several areas of the game in Vegas. pic.twitter.com/5wn1pDsvLe
— ً (@zachho0d) July 11, 2019
McCall also continued to cement his status as a fan favorite.
tough.
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 11, 2019
& one. pic.twitter.com/9vvib8SK9d
The EXTRA effort by Tahjere McCall!
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2019
He's up to 12 PTS & 8 REB in the 1st half on ESPN2. #NBASummer pic.twitter.com/q7RDOJyMzQ
The third quarter wasn’t especially forgiving on Atlanta’s side, with the offense sputtering. The Hawks scored only two points over a four-minute period and, in general, it was pretty ugly. Mercifully, the Wizards didn’t pull away amid their own offensive issues, and that kept things competitive.
Ultimately, the Hawks were outplayed in the fourth quarter (on the way to the end result) but there was at least more flash from Fernando.
Bruno Fernando faces up Rui Hachimura, puts the ball on the floor, gets to the right hook and scores over the contest. pic.twitter.com/dr9iz59BdB
— ً (@zachho0d) July 12, 2019
McCall (12 points, nine rebounds) and Brown (16 points on 6 of 9 shooting) were the individual bright spots for Atlanta, with some solid work from Mooney and an improved game (when compared to previous installations) from Jaylen Adams.
The Hawks will play one more game in Las Vegas, though the time, date and opponent will not be announced until the conclusion of pre-scheduled games on Thursday evening. Atlanta will either play on Friday or Saturday but will not advance to the eight-team tournament.
Stay tuned.