Quotes and notes from a big win.
The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 135-124 after being a double-digit underdog last night.
The Cavs started the game hot on a 10-0 run, and they eventually increased the lead up to 19. But the Hawks were able to erase that lead by the end of the first quarter as they were able to shoot the ball extremely well.
“Sometimes the ball goes in, and sometimes it doesn’t, said head coach Quin Snyder. “You do everything you can against a team that’s that good. We worked at it, and I’ll watch the tape to see if we contested better, but we were fortunate. Sometimes teams don’t shoot it well — we have had a lot of teams shoot it well against us — but tonight it went in our favor.”
The Hawks were led by Trae Young, as he finished the game with 20 points and 22 assists, a career high.
“It was a good game, and I got everybody involved, but I don’t think it’s my best one as I didn’t shoot the ball really well. I could’ve made some more shots for my team, as I had some really good looks, but my teammates made some shots, and I got them the ball in the spots they like. And they also made plays, so that’s how you get an assist — it’s teamwork,” said Young.
“I think really after our start there was frustration from our whole team. It’s probably the most significant thing for me in the game to react to being down. The biggest thing he (Young) did tonight was just push the ball, and he did a great job tonight with tempo to force guys to run. Whether it was him pushing on the dribble or, more importantly, passing the ball ahead, he gave guys an opportunity to make plays in the opening court, and he trusted his teammates,” said Snyder.
“It’s big for the smallest guy on the floor to see the floor really well as he makes on time passes. And we got guys that shot it, and it’s up to us to make the shot. And we made a lot of shots tonight,” said De’Andre Hunter.
Hunter led the team in scoring with 26 points off the bench for the Hawks. He was 5-for-9 on threes in the game.
“I think I hit a few shots early, and I was just in a good rhythm. And I think we were moving the ball well as a team. Trae had probably like 22 assists, and he was really getting off the ball and finding everyone in good spots,” said Hunter.
Zaccharie Risacher had a nice bounce back game, as he went on a shooting streak in the third quarter that saw him score 13 straight points for the Hawks on 5-of-5 shooting to open the second half. He finished the game with 17 points, tied with Bogdan Bogdanovic. Jalen Johnson registered nearly another triple-double with a stat line of 22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
The Hawks will use the game to look for more consistent play going forward as they continue to find their strides in the early season.
“I feel like we have been a little inconsistent on how we been playing, but the times that we have been playing well we have really been playing well. If we can just find some type of consistency with the way we play really well, I think it will help us. And you can also see how we play when we are healthy and when we are playing really well at a high level and what we can do. It feels really good to get this win against a really good team on the road for sure,” said Young.