Hawks hold off Thunder, grab 137-132 win

The Atlanta Hawks were on the road again on Wednesday evening for a matchup vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Hawks were able to hold on to a narrow 137-132 win in what was a shootout from end-to-end. Atlanta was able to snap their mini-losing streak

Both offenses were on fire out of the gates, as the Thunder led 43-39 after the first 12 minutes of play. In what would be a them for the night, star guards Trae Young and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were both hot out of the gates.

Young had 10 points in the opening period, while SGA had 11. The Thunder and Hawks played at a fast pace in the second quarter as well, going into the half tied at 77. Alexander had 26 points in the first half while Young led Atlanta with 22. Each team shot above 56% from the floor in the opening two quarters of play.

The Hawks had their best defensive quarter of the game in the third quarter, holding OKC to 27 points and 42% shooting. Atlanta carried a five-point lead into the final frame.

While the Hawks held larger leads in the fourth, that five-point margin wound up holding as they won by a score of 137-132. Young led the way with 33 points and 11 assists, while Dejounte Murray had a huge defensive play in the final moments after struggling for stretches earlier in the game.

Both John Collins (19 points and ten rebounds) and Clint Capela (18 points and ten rebounds) posted double-doubles for Atlanta in the win. Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 36 points in the losing effort.

The Hawks will be back in action Saturday evening when they host the Los Angeles Clippers at State Farm Arena.

Stay tuned.