At home, the Pelicans found Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson to receive the Hawks. The perfect opportunity to achieve a third consecutive success and stay at the top of the Western Conference.
The first quarter seemed to be pointing in this direction, with a clumsy and nonchalant Trae Young, hampered by the scale and intensity of Herb Jones, who took advantage of it for his part to score 11 points in the first 12 minutes , and which therefore allowed New Orleans to score at +8 (35-27).
Trae Young then focused on setting up the game, and with welcome points from Bogdan Bogdanovic coming off the bench, the Hawks got back together, even if Zion Williamson’s attacks remained difficult to contain.
At halftime, the Pelicans still led (60-53) but Quin Snyder’s men were on the lookout.
The ideal scenario for Trae Young, in difficulty until then. More focused and having above all understood the Pelicans’ defense, the “Little Corporal” of Atlanta was going to dissect his opponents to allow the Hawks to take the lead in a third quarter won by 18 points (41-23) by the visitors…
Overwhelmed, the Pelicans could only hope for a hold-up, and when Zion Williamson brought them back to ten points at the start of the last four minutes, the audience at the Smoothie King Center still believed in it. Except that Trae Young immediately extinguished all hope, with a 3-pointer and a serve for Clint Cape’s baseline.
The Hawks therefore won (123-105) for a fourth consecutive victory, after two defeats to start.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The two faces of Trae Young. A completely failed first quarter, a second quarter to get back on track and an impressive second half. Trae Young’s game wasn’t exactly linear, but when the point guard understood the Pelicans’ defense, he was able to get going. And throw his teammates.
– The Good Soldiers of Atlanta. Quin Snyder really wanted to highlight De’Andre Hunter, author of only 4 points and 5 rebounds. This is because the winger dislocated a finger during the match, but he nevertheless continued to play to ensure the work of the shadows. We will also note the impact of Jalen Johnson (21 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists) valuable since the transfer of John Collins and important in an offensive piston role.
– The Pelicans are not interested in rebounding. Willie Green could curse. With 19 offensive rebounds for 24 points on a second chance, the Hawks hurt New Orleans very badly by obtaining valuable additional possessions, and by “demoralizing” Zion Williamson and company, who were far too lax.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
