Hawks drop shorthanded bout vs. Magic 104-98 despite career-high effort from Reddish

The Atlanta Hawks faced the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night as both teams continue to battle having players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

This was a sloppy game throughout as both teams were missing significant contributors from their respective rotations. The Hawks were unable to get the win in this one, losing to the Magic by a score of 104-98.

The Hawks got off to a rough start in this one, but trailed just 22-20 heading into the second quarter. Cam Reddish led the Hawks with nine first-quarter points. Franz Wagner also scored nine in the first for the Magic.

The second quarter was even worse than the first for the Hawks, as they were outscored 25-17 by Orlando in the period. Atlanta shot just 33.3% in the first half and scored just 37 points before the break. The Magic led 47-37 heading into the third quarter, as Reddish led all first-half scorers with 12 points.

The Hawks were unable to make much ground in the third, outscoring Orlando by one in the quarter. Atlanta faced a nine-point defector entering the final frame. The Hawks were unable to muster a comeback in the fourth either as Bogdan Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu were forced to sit down early with minutes restrictions. Bogdanovic played off the bench in this game, returning to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 27.

Bogdanovic finished with six points in 21 minutes in his return, while Okongwu had eight points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes. Reddish was the lone bright spot after halftime for the Hawks, as he scored 24 points in the second half to finish with a career-high 36 points in the loss.

Wagner paced Orlando with 25 points, while Gary Harris scored 17 points.

The Hawks will now face a tough, shorthanded back-to-back with travel as they are scheduled to play the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia on Thursday evening.

Stay tuned.