After a 14–20 start and in the midst of a skid in which the team 11 out of 15 games, the Hawks fired third-year coach Lloyd Pierce in hopes of sparking a midseason turnaround. It's too soon to tell whether the move will pay immediate dividends, though Atlanta showed a flair for the dramatic in Thursday's 121-120 win over the Raptors.
Tony Snell's buzzer-beating three-pointer was just his second bucket of the night, but it gave the Hawks a thrilling victory to push their record to 3–0 since Pierce's firing.
Hawks guard Trae Young led the way with 37 points on 11-for-24 shooting, with five rebounds and six assists—including an assist on Snell's game-winning shot.