The Atlanta Hawks are looking for answers.
Confronted with a lackluster Miami Heat team, their decline continued at State Farm Arena, with a score of 115-91, marking the 9th consecutive loss at home – a streak since… November 22
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The Heat, who are once again without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, improved to 11-4 without their star duo on the roster, doubling the misery in Atlanta as Tyler Herro scored a near-multi three right from the bench with 21 points, 11 assists. and nine times back on.
It was a brutal night at the end of the attack for the Hawks, who shot just 37.8 percent (31-82) from the field and 28.9 percent (13 -45) from the 3-pointer line and after just five points in the first half (56-51), they let the game slip away with a poor performance in the third quarter.
Miami started the third inning on the 19-2 run to extend their lead to 22 points, overtaking the Hawks 30-16 in the period on a 3-point streak, knocking out five of their 16 in frames. Meanwhile, the Hawks went 0/6 from deep in the inning and shot only 5/18 from the field.
“We just can’t maintain, really, anything,” Hawks head coach Nate McMillan said showed their sloppy third quarter.
After a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks have underperformed this season, currently holding the fourth-worst record in the East at 17-23, less than the final seed of the Play League -Print 3.0 matches.
In those 9 home losses, the Hawks’ defense was almost non-existent, giving up 117.9 points out of 100 possessions, which will rank last in the NBA this season.
In the past eight games, they have dropped 130 plus points on four occasions, and while they have struggled to achieve consistency in their roster due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, they have not make any excuses.
“I don’t know, to be honest with you,” Trae Young says after Sunday’s loss to the LA Clippers. “I feel like this is repeating itself because the first years I lost, you tried so hard to find a way to win but it wasn’t enough, and you have to find a way. Really hard. I don’t know how to answer that question. I think that lies between me and myself.
“…We finally got some back, but we have to win. For me, I mean obviously, it’s frustration. I hate losing. It’s quite a lot. I’m not the happiest guy in the world right now, but we have to find a way to win.”
Atlanta has now lost 3 games in a row and has lost 9 of its past 12 games.
They will have one more shot at the Heat on Friday when the two teams meet again in Miami, before having a four-game game against the Knicks, Bucks, Timberwolves and Heat once again.
