The OKC Thunder played arguably the worst game of the season losing to the Atlanta Hawks 142-126. TI presents three takeaways from the loss.
After bouncing back against the San Antonio Spurs three nights ago, the OKC Thunder played its worst game of the season losing to the Atlanta Hawks 142-126. The Hawks came out with a tonne of energy early, sucker punched the Thunder in the mouth and never looked back.
Oklahoma City built an early 29-25 lead in the first quarter thanks to some crisp passing and dominance in the paint. All five starters were on the board early with Paul George leading the way with 10 points.
Then the second quarter arrived and the Hawks went nuts.
Atlanta scored a whopping 45 points on 18-26 shooting (69.2 percent) and 7-12 from three (58.4) with eight players scoring at least four points. OKC was hammered in the pick and roll, failing to contain the ball handler or roll man. While the Thunder shot 14-26 from the field and 2-4 from three, the defensive intensity was non-existent. The Hawks lead 70-59 at the break.
The third quarter was totally different from the first half. Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder combined for 26 points on 7-9 shooting, 2-2 from three and 10-10 from the line to overturn an 11-point deficit into a 3-point lead. OKC got out in transition and pummelled the Hawks on the break for easy buckets. Oklahoma City shot 13-21 from the field, 3-8 from three and 12-13 from the line to ascend to a 100-97 lead.
When the fourth quarter arrived, it was all Atlanta.
The Hawks shot a ludicrous 17-24 from the field, 5-7 from three and 6-6 from the line en route to another 45-point quarter. Trae Young led the charge with 13 fourth-quarter points and blew the Thunder’s pick and roll coverages to shreds. The Brodie tried to keep the Thunder in the game with 10 points but the team shot 29.6 percent from the field and 16.7 from the three.
Oklahoma City was unable to stop the bleeding defensively and couldn’t keep up with the Hawks offensively. Here are three takeaways from the game.