Hawks unable to overcome dreadful first quarter in 135-124 loss to Magic

The Atlanta Hawks were in Orlando on Wednesday evening to take on the Magic. After fighting back from down 29 points, the Hawks were not able to secure the win, losing 135-124.

The Hawks got Trae Young and Clint Capela back after they missed the game on Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Young wore a splint on his non-shooting hand after falling on his elbow during the Bulls game.

The Hawks did not start the game off the way they probably wanted to, as they went down 14-4 early in the first quarter.

Young tried to keep the Hawks in the game with his patent floater.

The Magic were lights out on offense in the first, knocking down threes and getting what they wanted in the paint. Nobody on the Hawks could find any consistent offense, and the defense continued to give up open shots.

At the end of the first, the Hawks hadn't made any three-pointers, while the Magic shot 6-of-10 from deep and 64% from the field. The Magic led 50-22 heading into the second quarter.

The Hawks were better in the second quarter, knocking down a few more shots and getting stops on the other end. Bogdan Bogdanovic found Onyeka Okongwu for this easy slam.

Toward the end of the second quarter, De’Andre Hunter came alive for the Hawks, as he knocked down shot after shot to bring the Hawks within 14 points going into halftime. Hunter finished with 22 points (20 in the second) and shot 4-of-6 from three in the first half.

The Hawks came out with the same energy they left with at the end of the first half. Midway through the third quarter, the Hawks cut their deficit down to nine points. Johnson was a big part of the run, which included this nice lob to Capela, and a layup of his own later in the quarter.

The Hawks cut the Magic’s lead down to as much as eight points, but a buzzer-beater three from Terrence Ross saw them down 105-94 to end the third quarter.

Both teams couldn’t get anything going to start the fourth quarter, as the score stayed the same for a few minutes. As the quarter went on, they traded buckets, which wasn't a good thing for the Hawks. After struggling for most of the game from three, Bogdanovic hit two threes in the fourth quarter.

The Magic hit big shots down the stretch to try to put the game away, but the Hawks continued to fight to the end. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they didn't have enough at the end to pull through the win.

Hunter finished with 25 points, Young finished with 19 points and 16 assists, and Bogdanovic finished with 17 points.

The Hawks will be in Charlotte on Friday evening to take on the Hornets.

Stay tuned.