The Hawks had a real chance to keep their surprising run in the NBA Cup going and make it to the final on Tuesday. They needed just 12 strong minutes to make it happen.
But in the fourth quarter, the Hawks’ offense struggled, only scoring 19 points in the final period of their 110-102 semifinal loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
In that quarter, the Hawks were outscored by nine points, making only 5 of 16 shots and missing six of their last seven attempts.
“I know there were a few that were really good shots and we had to work for them,” said Hawks coach Quin Snyder. “That said, I think we know whatever that is — it could be on the margins — there are certain things that we need to do better.
But I think for us (just) to put ourselves in that situation, given we didn’t really make shots during the course of the game, either. I think the storyline for me is just how we competed.”
The Hawks got to Las Vegas by going 3-1 in group play, including a close 117-116 win over the defending champion Boston Celtics. They then beat New York 108-100 in a quarterfinal on Wednesday.
After defeating the Knicks, Trae Young made a playful gesture of rolling dice on the Madison Square Garden court.
However, there would be no such celebration in Las Vegas, even with a large Hawks crowd cheering them on.
Despite the loss, the Hawks gained a lot from the experience as they try to show that the Eastern Conference isn’t just about the Celtics, Knicks, and the 22-4 Cavaliers — a team Atlanta also beat in group play.
“I think what we have done in this Cup was really, really special,” said Young, who came close to a triple-double with 35 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. “I think we’ve really found the way we want to play and figured out the tempo we want to play at and things like that.
I feel like this Cup was really good for us. For a young team to go as far as we did, we can really use this as hopefully momentum going into the rest of the season.”
But Young felt disappointed about the missed chances in the fourth quarter that could have made the NBA Cup even more special.
“We showed throughout this whole Cup that we belong,” said Jalen Johnson, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds. “We can compete with the best of them. Unfortunately, today we came up short. It’s just going to give us a lot to learn from moving forward.
‘Especially down the stretch in those last five, six minutes, I’ve definitely got to be better. Just as a team, we’ve got a lot of room to grow, but I’m proud of everybody. We defeated a lot of odds coming in, making it all the way to Vegas. There’s nothing to hang our heads about. We’ve just got to keep moving in the right direction.”
