The Hawks Get Embarrassed By The Raptors At Home

Raphael Haynes
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Balance scoring by the Toronto Raptors ended up being too much for the Atlanta Hawks in a score of 108-93

The Hawks (14-33) came in looking to win their fourth out of their last five games. Meanwhile the Raptors (32-14) came in well rested after three days off.

Both teams came out flat with a total of five turnovers in the first five minutes. Toronto caught fire and hit their next four shots. Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors with 10 points and four in the first quarter.

The theme of the Hawks season has been their inability to stop teams from scoring inside which continued. The Raptors scored 10 first quarter points in the paint.

On the offensive end, the Hawks struggled shooting 33% from the field giving up six turnovers in the first quarter. They trailed 28-16 going into the second quarter. “They [Toronto] did a good job, they have good talent and well coached and we were in the whole early and could never dig ourselves out of it,” stated coach Mike Budenholzer.

Atlanta scored 28 of their 40 first half points in the paint. They continued to struggle from three point range going 1-11 in the quarter. Toronto led 58-40.

Third quarter, the same trend followed as Atlanta scored six quick points inside the paint but wasn’t able to stop Toronto’s offense from scoring.

The lead ballooned to 23 with Toronto staying aggressive on the defensive side as they totaled 11 blocks through three quarters. Midway in the fourth quarter, the Raptors pushed the lead to as much as 32 points.

“Some of it was because of our defense but they did get a couple of good looks that they missed and we took advantage of and tried to get out and play fast,” stated DeMar DeRozan.

The Hawks shot 39% from the field and went 7-21 behind the 3-point arch.

Toronto balanced scoring included five players in double figures. Valanciunas led the team with 13 rebounds.

Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 20 points and eight rebounds, John Collins scored 13 points and 16 rebounds.

The Hawks travel to Charlotte to play the Hornets on Friday.

 

Raphael Haynes

Atlanta, GA

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