Late-game struggles and turnovers cost Atlanta dearly as Portland capitalized, extending the Hawks' issues and highlighting critical areas for improvement.
The Atlanta Hawks dropped the last game of their four-game West Coast trip Thursday night, falling 117-101 to the Portland Trail Blazers to move to 20-23 on the season.
For Atlanta, it was a frustrating way to close the trip. The Hawks finished 2-2 overall, which is solid all things considered, but Portland continues to be a tough stop. Atlanta has now lost nine straight games at the Moda Center, with its last win there coming back on Feb. 13, 2017.
Jalen Johnson had another down night scoring the basketball, and it might be a situation where he needs a night off or two. Johnson scored 12 points and struggled to find his usual rhythm, turning the ball over multiple times and failing to consistently make plays downhill. He did contribute in other areas, finishing with 11 rebounds and six assists, but he was not the same offensive engine Atlanta has relied on for most of the season.
Portland was without breakout forward Deni Avdija, but the Trail Blazers still found enough offense. Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant carried the scoring load, while two-way player Rayan Rupert knocked down three 3-pointers, including a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter that swung momentum firmly in Portland’s favor.
That sequence mattered.
Snyder pointed to Atlanta’s inability to close quarters as an early warning sign that carried over into the fourth.
“Even prior to that, at the end of the third, we didn’t finish quarters well,” Snyder said. “Fouled, turnover buckets the other way that impacted us at the end of the third, and then the same thing happened and it carried over to start the fourth.”
As for Atlanta’s contributors, Onyeka Okongwu continued his strong play, leading the Hawks with 26 points and nine rebounds. CJ McCollum added 20 points off the bench in another solid scoring effort for the new addition.
The game fully slipped away early in the fourth quarter. Atlanta went through a stretch where it could not buy a basket, opening the final period 1-of-9 from the floor over the first four minutes. The Hawks rushed shots, failed to secure long rebounds, and allowed Portland to turn those possessions into easy points the other way.
A Duop Reath three capped an 18-2 Trail Blazers run that pushed the lead to 103-89 and effectively ended the contest.
Snyder said turnovers and second-chance points made the margin difficult to overcome.
“We gave up 48 points off turnovers and second-chance points, and that’s almost half their points,” Snyder said. “Our defensive rebounding and taking care of the ball… those two areas of the game, it’s tough to overcome that.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who had been on a heater recently, also had a down shooting night. He made just two field goals in 29 minutes, and Atlanta finished the game with seven players posting a negative plus-minus.
Snyder credited Portland’s physical tools and defensive pressure for forcing Atlanta out of its comfort zone.
“Give them credit,” Snyder said. “They’re aggressive defensively, they’re long, they put a lot of pressure on you to handle the ball.”
That pressure, Snyder said, is something Atlanta has to counter with better collective execution.
“We need to try to play with the pass even more to alleviate some of that pressure,” Snyder said. “Whether it’s playing some pick-and-roll in the backcourt and brush-screening guys, but we have to handle that collectively.”
Snyder added that Portland’s length and athleticism consistently showed up in key moments.
“Their length and their athleticism… that’s what they do,” he said.
Zooming out, Snyder framed the loss as part of a broader process for a team still finding its footing.
“There’s a lot there when you’ve got your team midseason that’s evolving, and it affects your performance,” Snyder said. “At that point, hopefully things start to normalize, and from that point you take some steps.”
For now, the focus turns to film and connectivity.
“We can look at the tape and see the things that I think will confirm where we need to be better,” Snyder said. “With a new group that’s new to each other, we just need to continue to work through some of those things and get even more connected.”
Atlanta now returns home at 7-11 at State Farm Arena, making the upcoming games against the Celtics and Bucks important opportunities to regain momentum after a long trip out west.