Even without Trae Young, De’Andre Hunter and Clint Capela and on the second night of a back-to-back after losing at home to Indiana, Atlanta gave it their all to try to snag Brooklyn, the team in the shape of the moment. It was close, between the talent mixed with the composure of the Irving-Durant pair in attack, and two strokes of bad luck from Dejounte Murray at the end.
With energy, and with 3-point skill, the Hawks had nevertheless managed to race in the lead in the first quarter. With free rein in the lead, Dejounte Murray even ended the period by scoring the last 7 points for his team (29-22). Problem, in the team opposite, Kevin Durant had not come to attend the Hawks show at home. KD thus put his team back in the lead in a jiffy, between an alley-oop served for Nic Claxton, a 3-point and two baskets to complete the first act (30-31).
The locals recovered, this time taking advantage of the very good passage of Jalen Johnson and the entry into play of Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Serb notably scored two 3-point baskets in a row, rewarding Atlanta for his defense and his transition game (55-43). But again, Brooklyn did what it took to get back in the game.
Patty Mills also lined up six straight points to reduce the score at the break (63-56). Then it was Nic Claxton and Royce O’Neale who raised their level of play to accompany the Irving-Durant duo. As in the first quarter, Brooklyn thus regained the lead at the last minute, placing itself ideally to start the last act (80-83).
Kyrie Irving then took responsibility, once again, by putting the Nets into orbit with two serves for TJ Warren and Yuta Watanabe, but above all three brilliant actions: a fade-away jump shot baseline followed by two missiles in a row 3-pointers (82-95). To respond to Atlanta’s 10-0, he then lined up a 2+1 and a drive with an improbable finish in transition (92-100), then a racket headshot followed by a millimeter lob pass for Nic Claxton. Insufficient, however, to repel the catchy Hawks and returned to 104-104 following the missiles from afar from the Bogdanovic-Holiday pair.
In the final sprint, it was KD who had the last word, on two shots from mid-range, where Dejounte Murray saw one of his attempts fall short before missing a precious shot at 107-108. After a last missed 3-pointer from Kyrie Irving, he had one last chance to make the hold-up, but his 3-point shot in front of the backboard hit the back of the circle before coming out (107-108) .
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Atlanta didn’t give up. The Hawks delivered the almost perfect game considering the circumstances and the talent of the Irving-Durant pair. John Collins’ troops were aggressive in defence, opportunistic and diligent in attack (only 3 lost balls) and it took little (a few more free throws?) for them to create a surprise.
– Watch out for the defense. Brooklyn has two of the greatest forwards of their generation in its ranks. It is (again) thanks to their talent that they were able to get away with it this night, even if it was necessary to wait for the buzzer to raise their arms to the sky. The defense, on the other hand, is less effective. In the money-time, the Hawks managed to score ten times out of thirteen possessions until this attempt by Dejounte Murray who rolled around the circle before coming out 50 seconds from time. Even on its streak of 10 victories, Brooklyn has taken the bad habit of collecting a lot of points (114 on average). A defect that will have to be corrected by the spring.
– An alert for Dejounte Murray? The Hawks held their breath when Dejounte Murray took a knee-to-knee impact with Yuta Watanabe on a drive to the circle and limped back and grimaced. The leader finally gritted his teeth to take part in the “money-time”. His left knee held on, but it’s hard not to think about this blow in view of the end of the match, between his missed free throw, his attempt which made a mess and his last shot missed at 3-pointers…
– Fault or not? With less than ten seconds on the clock for the last possession and a point behind, Nate McMillan decided to trust Dejounte Murray to get the ball up and find a solution. The point guard decided to take a complicated shot with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on him. His shot didn’t find the target, but on closer inspection, he might have benefited from a foul, either from Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving, or even both! Your turn to judge…
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ The Irving-Durant tandem to finish the job. The last quarter belongs to them. Kyrie Irving started with a real festival before going into the hard, missing shots and even losing a critical ball. KD then entered the arena to score two baskets with the aesthetic that characterizes him. 54 points scored between them and another victory at the finish, which remains the most important thing.
✅ Onyeka Okongwu. Another double-double for the interior that represents more than an alternative to Clint Capela as the weeks go by. Still applied and aggressive, he brought his stone to the building even if there is no victory at the end.
✅⛔️ Dejounte Murray. Very good Murray for almost the entire game (24 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) and this unfortunate final which just tarnished his performance a little. Beyond his last two missed shots, it was above all his missed free throw at the end that could have changed the outcome of this end of the match.
THE FOLLOWING
Atlanta (17-18): the Hawks will host the Lakers this Friday for their last game of the year (01:30).
Brooklyn (23-12): the Nets meet in Charlotte this Saturday (1 a.m.).
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