Golden State Warriors Beat Down Atlanta Hawks Thanks To Big Second Half
After an extended break due to the tragic and untimely passing of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic, the Dubs returned to action last night knocking off the Atlanta Hawks 134-112. Before the game, the Warriors put on a very emotional and touching ceremony for Milojevic where the players wore warmup shirts saying “Brate,” meaning brother in Serbian. They also each dawned jerseys with the name Milojevic on the back while head coach Steve Kerr gave a speech ending with fans and players giving Milojevic “a standing ovation he could hear in Heaven.” The Dubs were able to successfully honor their late coach, as they played a great game led by Jonathan Kuminga scoring 25 off the bench without missing a shot. Kerr rolled with the same starting lineup he’s been using, going with the splash brothers, Wiggins, Saric and Looney.
Steph Curry missed the first shot of the game but after a Looney offensive rebound, he reloaded and nailed a three from the right wing. Dejounte Murray came right back with a trey of his own igniting a quick 10-0 burst by the Hawks to give them an early 10-3 lead. Saric cut the lead to two with a deep three and inside look and the Warriors tied it up at 15 a few minutes later on a pair of Curry free throws. Kuminga converted an and-1 and followed it up with another short jumper but Atlanta responded and took a 25-22 lead after journeyman Patty Mills buried two threes. Golden State closed the quarter out with a flurry of threes and took a 38-31 lead into the second quarter. The Dubs extended the lead to double digits in the first minute of the second, though Bogdan Bogdanovic got an and-1 to fall and Patty Mills striped another three to slice into the lead. With just over nine minutes to play, Bogdanovic hit a long ball to make it a 45-42 game in favor of the Warriors. Both teams couldn’t buy a bucket over the next two minutes until Podz finally took the lid off the basket with a nice bucket. Draymond went on to drain one from beyond the arc giving the Dubs a 54-46 advantage, and two minutes later he hit another one to get Chase Center on their feet. With under 90 seconds to go, Curry got one to fall from 30 feet making it a 69-61 game but the Hawks stormed back in the last minute led by three straight Jalen Johnson buckets, and just like that the score was 69-68 at the break.
Saddiq Bey got the scoring started in the second half with a go ahead trey but Looney answered with a bucket to knot it up at 71 apiece. The next several minutes were slow paced but Curry nailed a three ball with a little over six minutes on the clock and both offenses kicked it back into gear. Trailing 82-79, young center Onyeka Okongwu grabbed an offensive board and went back up with it for two, followed by Garrison Matthews free throw to tie things up. Two minutes later, Curry hit a step back jumper extending the lead to 88-82, but Murray came down the court and buried a trey to make it a one score game. In the last 120 seconds, Cory Joseph connected on one from downtown, and Klay got a bucket and a pair of free throws to give the Dubs a nine point cushion with one quarter to play, 101-92. The first couple minutes of the fourth were sure to be decisive, as a run by Golden State could put the game away but a run by Atlanta would signal that it might go down to the wire. Credit to the Dubs, they swung first as Kuminga got to the rack for a few buckets and Klay knocked down two of his own to help them take a 113-98 lead with under nine to play. A few minutes later, Steph drained another 30 footer and the lead had ballooned to 124-104. The Hawks kept their starters in for a few more minutes before emptying the bench with three minutes on the clock. Thanks to a dominant third and fourth quarter, the Warriors pulled off a big win 134-112 on a very emotional night.
Atlanta’s scoring numbers were fairly spread out without Trae Young. Murray recorded 23 points on 7-19 from the field while Jalen Johnson had a solid game with 21 points on an 8-16 clip. Sadiq Bey and Bogdanovic had 18 and 17, combining for 7 threes in the process and Capela put up 11 points and snagged 11 boards. Patty Mills led the bench unit with 13 points on three threes while Okongwu chipped in 6 points and 7 boards. For the Dubs, it was a historical night for Jonathan Kuminga as he had 25 points off the bench and didn’t miss a shot. He was 11-11 from the field and picked up 9 rebounds. Curry had 25 and Klay had 24, each nailing 5 treys. Wiggins went 0-4 from downtown but racked up 12 points while Saric and Podz had 10 apiece. Finally, Draymond had a solid all around game with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
There were a plethora of bright spots for Golden State last night. The brightest of them all, Kuminga’s perfect night. He has been playing excellently recently and he is showing no sign of slowing down. If the Warriors can continue to get this type of production from him, they have a legitimate chance of making a run at some point. I still don’t think they are anywhere near the top tier teams in the league such as the Nuggets, Celtics or Bucks, but I believe if they can make a quality move at the deadline, develop chemistry and get rolling, they have the ability to beat any time in the league. Back to the stats, the Dubs thrived shooting the ball, going 51-91 from the field including 16/33 from deep. They outscored the Hawks in the paint and narrowly outrebounded them as well. They turned the ball over 10 times which is not great but not awful. Even with Trae Young sidelined, holding Atlanta to 112 points was a success in my mind as the Warriors defense of late has been subpar.
The Warriors move to 19-22, and still sit on the outside looking into the playoffs. The squad will have to quickly rest up and recuperate as the Kings come to town tonight. The Kings are 24-18 and will likely be fighting for a playoff spot with the Dubs late in the season. They play fast and uptempo, so the Warriors will need to get ready to run. Building off the momentum from last night’s big win, look for the Warriors to come out hot and play a great game. I’ve got the Dubs winning this one 128-121.