After winning seven out of eight games between November 27 and December 11, the Atlanta Hawks fell just short in each of their last two contests — an eight-point loss (where the Hawks were outscored 28-19 in the fourth quarter) to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup semifinals last weekend and a gutting back-and-forth overtime defeat in San Antonio on Thursday.
While the Hawks fell victim to superstar-level performances from, well, superstar-level players in both defeats — with Giannis exploding for 32 points (on 10-for-15 shooting, 12-for-18 from the free throw line), 14 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks on Saturday, and Victor Wembanyama* going full on ‘Alien-Mode’ with a 42-point showing (13-for-24 from the floor, including 7-for-15 from three) on Thursday night — these performances weren’t the only reason that they lost.