ATLANTA — Sharing the ball and getting huge performances from Bogdan Bogdanovic and Delon Wright, the short-handed Hawks (35-35) beat the Grizzlies, 120-105, Friday at State Farm Arena.
Next up, the Hawks will host the Pelicans Sunday.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. Atlanta had to play this game without its go-to duo of Trae Young and John Collins. Earlier Friday, the Hawks announced Collins’ foot injury includes a plantar fascia tear and he’ll be out 10-14 more days at the least, likely longer, since that’s just the date of re-evaluation, not return. That’s a huge blow to the Hawks as they aim to finish the regular season strong. In addition to missing their starting power forward, star point guard Trae Young didn’t play in this game, sidelined with a left quad contusion he sustained in Wednesday’s loss in Charlotte.
2. Wright, who not long ago had been taken out of the rotation by Hawks coach Nate McMillan, was a dominant force in this game both offensively and defensively limiting Ja Morant. Not known as a shooter, Wright tallied 18 points (7 for 11 field goals, 4 for 6 from 3-point range, 7 for 8 free throws), created for others with six assists and on the other end had a team-high five steals. Wright’s production was key, especially with Young out.
“I thought he was just solid, defensively keeping Morant in front of him but offensively, he took his shot when he had it. ... He earned the playing time at that time,” McMillan said of Wright, dating back to when he had shortened the rotation, excluding Wright. “We had a 10-man rotation, and as I mentioned, as I told him, he’s a utility guy for us. What I mean by that, he could go from playing low minutes to starting. And if he can keep his mind on that type of role, I think it’ll help us and he’s done that.
“We talked about it and basically it has happened. We talked about shortening that rotation, we did it for a game and because of injuries, he’s gone from playing those short minutes to starting, as I told him it probably would happen. That’s making sacrifices for the team and he certainly made a big difference tonight.”
3. Bogdanovic has been in a shooting slump, shooting 30.3% from the field (20 for 66) and 17.5% from 3-point range (7 for 40) over the past five games, but bounced back with a game-high 30 points (9 for 15, 5 for 6 from 3-point range, 7 for 8 FT). He also added two rebounds, three assists and three steals, finishing as a plus-25.
4. The Hawks led by as much as 21 in the first half and were up 19 at halftime, but the Grizzlies (48-23) started gaining once Morant found his footing in the third quarter. Morant finished with 29 points and Memphis cut the Hawks’ lead to 10 midway through the third quarter, then to 11 with 5:18 left in the fourth, but the Hawks were firing on all cylinders and responded with an 8-0 run with contributions from Kevin Huerter (team-high seven assists, six points), Clint Capela (18 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks, plus-12) and Wright.
They also played with higher energy on defense, limiting Memphis to 8 for 22 from 3-point range, something McMillan took note of: “It’s been a while. Yep. I thought we were solid, packing our paint and keeping the ball in front of us, making them score over the top of us and we’ve talked about that all season long. Certainly tonight was a better job of executing that.”
5. Up against the No. 2 team in the Western Conference, this was an impressive win for a Hawks team that sits at No. 10 in the Eastern Conference and for nearly the entire season hasn’t been able to find the consistency that carried them to the conference finals last year. To do it when missing two of their biggest contributors in Young and Collins is even more impressive. The Hawks got back up to .500 with this win.
— Stat of the game: 28 assists (even without Young, who’s third in the league in assists at 9.5 per game, the Hawks moved the ball exceptionally well)
— Star of the game: Wright (tallied 18 points, six assists, three rebounds and a team-high five steals with his scrappy defense, going from out of the rotation a few games ago to shining as a starter Friday)
— Quotable: “That’s where he sees me fitting in, so I just have to do pretty much whatever it is for the team, sacrifice.” (Wright on McMillan viewing him as a utility player)
