For one quarter, the Atlanta Hawks were excellent on Monday night. For the other three quarters, the Golden State Warriors were just better, though, and that was the takeaway from a 102-92 defeat that doubled as the home team's third consecutive loss after the All-Star break.
The visiting Warriors displayed all of the qualities of their greatness in the first half, beginning with a 14-6 surge to start the game. From there, Golden State built the lead to 21-9 and, then, to 30-15 at the end of the first quarter, using a steady onslaught of indefensible offense and some stingy defense that forced Atlanta into 32% shooting and just 1 of 8 from three in the first 12 minutes.