1. The game followed the tragic news that Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others had died in a helicopter crash earlier Sunday. State Farm Arena observed a moment of silence in Bryant’s honor before the game, casting a purple light throughout the crowd, and the Hawks opened up the game with an eight-second violation, with the Wizards following that up with a 24-second violation (Bryant wore jersey No. 8 for the first half of his career and No. 24 for the last half before retiring in 2016). , many players said. The Hawks wrote “Mamba mentality” on their white board before the game, per coach Lloyd Pierce, and tried to use the game as a brief escape and reminder to keep things in perspective: “The definition (of Mamba mentality) is defined by many for what Kobe has done, in terms of his intensity, his killer instinct, his attack mode, mindset, his dominance, but that’s also the love of the game.
Analysis: On emotional night, Hawks’ offense pushes past Wizards
