Though it seemed as though the Warriors may have been picking up some steam as January continued on, much of that momentum was halted on Sunday when the Atlanta Hawks arrived at Chase Center.

Though the Hawks were 19-21 on the year coming into the game and had suffered a seven-game losing streak at the end of December, they had won two straight and four of their previous six ahead of their matchup with the Warriors. Additionally, they would be getting two new players to insert into their rotation after trading Trae Young to the Washington Wizards: CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.

Though neither player ended up being particularly effective in their Hawks' debut, the rest of the team showed up to play and had an impressive showing on Warriors ground. Despite 61 combined points from Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, the Warriors just couldn't stymy the Hawks enough and eventually lost 124-111.

After the game, Steve Kerr was honest in his assessment of how good the Hawks looked out there and how the Warriors were outplayed.

"I think it was all about Atlanta, they just played a great game. We couldn't turn them over, they shot it lights out, 32 assists, seven turnovers. I didn't think we played poorly, I didn't think we played that well. Obviously 10-for-42 (from three), we needed to shoot better. More than anything they just played a great game and deserved it."

"They're long and athletic. They did a really good job defensively. They did a lot of switching. We got into a couple late clock situations where they kind of jumbled us up with their switching and then we turned it over. That stretch was a killer for sure. Again, these nights happen. There’s talent all over the league. These guys are young, and athletic, and long, and they can give you a lot of trouble."

Kerr wasn't exaggerating about the length the Hawks trotted out there. The shortest player in the starting lineup was Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who is 6'5 with a 6'10 wingspan. Everyone else in the lineup — Dyson Daniels, Vít Krejčí, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu — was at least 6'7, similarly built in length, and athletically capable.

Even with all of the length and athleticism favoring the Hawks on the defensive end, the Warriors still weren't horrific at turning the ball over. 16 turnovers for 28 Hawks' points isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a lower total than some of the other games the Warriors have played this season. 

However, the big issue came from the shooting. The Warriors shot just 24% from three, while the Hawks finished at 38%. Especially considering Luke Kennard splashed six triples off the bench and the Warriors didn't have a single player not named Steph Curry with more than two threes, an already challenging game became nearly impossible to pull off.

The Warriors have now reached the end of the front half of this eight-game homestand. They'll face the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.