The Atlanta Hawks' 11-game winning streak is over. Houston handed Atlanta a 117-95 loss Friday night, outscoring the Hawks 39-22 in the third quarter.
The Atlanta Hawks' 11-game winning streak is over. The Houston Rockets ended it Friday, 117-95.
The Rockets came out aggressively from the opening tip, and the Hawks never quite matched the intensity.
"They came out focused, aggressive, and urgent," coach Quin Snyder said. "We were playing hard, but they sped us up a little bit early. Everything was a little rushed."
Atlanta fought back enough to stay in it, trailing by eight at halftime, 62-54. Then the third quarter happened.
Houston outscored Atlanta 39-22 in the period. The Rockets used their size to take away the paint, and the Hawks went cold from everywhere.
"We had some really good looks from three that we didn't make," Snyder said. "When we did get to the rim, we didn't convert a number of high-percentage layup opportunities. It's really hard to defend against those. They were able to get out and run."
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta with 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting and made 8 of 9 free throws. CJ McCollum added 17, Jalen Johnson had 14 points and five rebounds, and Zaccharie Risacher came off the bench for 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, connecting on all three of his 3-point attempts. The Hawks shot just 42% overall and 26% from deep on 9-of-35 attempts. Houston outrebounded them 51-37.
"When you play a team that's as physical as they are and switches the way they do, you have to move the ball before you can attack, just to loosen them," Snyder said. "We started to get a feel for that as the game went on, but not soon enough."
Dyson Daniels finished with three points on 1-of-5 shooting in 25 minutes. Johnson committed four of the team's 16 turnovers. Onyeka Okongwu posted six points, eight rebounds, and three assists, including the 600th of his career.
Risacher was a rare bright spot out of the bench.
"He's been competing," Snyder said. "Every game's a little different, but there were opportunities that presented themselves to him. He shot the ball confidently, mixed it up, came up with some loose balls, and did a good job defensively."
Risacher kept his answer simple when asked about his performance.
"I feel like it's just reading the game," he said. "I gotta get physical too. It's just crashing, securing the rebound no matter where, then running, spacing the floor and being the first one on the other end."
Kevin Durant led Houston with 25 points and six assists. Jabari Smith Jr. added 23 and Alperen Sengun finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. The Rockets shot 51% from the field and 47% from 3-point range.
The loss dropped Atlanta to 38-32 and back to the seventh seed. The Hawks are tied with Miami and Philadelphia, each a half-game behind Orlando for the sixth seed. Atlanta holds the tiebreaker over Miami on divisional record at 8-6 in the Southeast.
Snyder wasn't ready to treat the loss as anything but a teaching moment.
"One of the things we've been able to do while winning is continue to get better," he said. "We don't have time to watch film tonight, but our guys understanding that and processing it is important. It's an opportunity to raise your level."
The Hawks return home Saturday to host Golden State at State Farm Arena.