It was another tough situation for the Hawks tonight vs the team with the third-best record in the NBA, the Houston Rockets. They were missing Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Clint Capela tonight vs Houston and their absences were felt tonight in what ended up being a four-point loss. It was almost a miracle 4th quarter comeback that saw Atlanta erase a 16-point lead and have an open look to win the game, but De’Andre Hunter’s go-ahead three-pointer went down and out, sealing Atlanta’s fate and extending their losing streak.

There were no new reasons as to why the Hawks lost this game. The offense, particularly the three-point shooting, continues to be dismal (putting it nicely) and is not giving the Hawks much of a chance, despite the defense playing a good game. Injuries to four different impact players did not help either, though Capela was not on the injury report yesterday or today and was ruled out after the game began.

Only four Hawks scored in double-digits tonight, led by Trae Young, who had 21 points to go along with nine assists. Hunter came off the bench to score 16, Krejci had 13, and Dyson Daniels had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. Atlanta shot 40% from the field and 23% from three. The Hawks have had one of the worst offenses in the NBA over the past two weeks and that continued tonight. Mouhamed Gueye got his first career NBA start tonight and scored 11 points and pulled in seven rebounds. Gueye has received significant rotation minutes for the first time in his young career due to injuries to the rest of the roster and has shown his talent, while also showing that he is still a raw player with an intriguing skill set.

Atlanta is now 22-25 and at risk of slipping further in the Eastern Conference. A season that looked filled with so much promise just a few weeks ago looks to be teetering due to the injuries to key players and poor play. The Hawks will travel to Cleveland on Thursday to try and snap this losing streak.

The Hawks defense had a good night tonight vs the Rockets, finishing with a 97.3 defensive rating. Houston shot 47% from thre field and 23% from three. Jalen Green led all scorers with 25 points, Alperen Sengun had 18 points, Jae’Sean Tate had 16 points off the bench, and both Amen Thompson and Dillon Brooks had 11. Atlanta forced 21 turnovers on defense, which kept them in the game despite the struggles on the offensive end of the floor.

It was the first career NBA start for Mo Gueye tonight. He started alongside Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Vit Krejci, and Onyeka Okongwu. The Rockets kept their usual starting five of Fred Van Vleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, and Alperen Sengun.

After the Rockets leaped out to a 7-2 lead, the Hawks responded in a big way with a 14-0 run and causing Ime Udoka to call a timeout. The Hawks started to dip into their rotation after the timeout, bringing in De’Andre Hunter, Keaton Wallace, and Larry Nance. Hunter scored a career high 35 points last night vs Minnesota and this was the third straight game for Wallace, having played a G-League game on Sunday and the game last night.

After going up 16-7, the Rockets went on an 11-5 run to cut the lead to 21-18. The Hawks defense was doing a good job of defending the three point line, limiting the Rockets to 2-10 from deep and taking a 27-22 lead into the second quarter. The Hawks were shooting 42% from the field and 31% from three. Young and Hunter had six points each.

The Rockets did not want the Hawks to get any momentum and after the Hawks scored four quick points and led 31-24.

The timeout did stop the momentum though and Houston responded with a 12-2 run to take their first lead since early in the game. Talented guard Jalen Green had a big second quarter, scoring 11 points and being the most consistent source of offense for the Rockets early in the game.

The Hawks were not playing well on offense but were being very disruptive on the defensive end and causing chaos. In the second quarter alone, the Hawks forced 10 turnovers and scored eight points off of them. The Rockets turnovers led to the Hawks climbing back in the game and taking a 50-49 lead into the half.

Atlanta shot 41% from the field in the first half and 24% from three. Young led the way with 11 points and five assists. The Rockets shot 54% from the field and 31% from three.

The offenses did not start off much better in the second half. During the first three minutes, the teams combined to shoot 1-10 from the field and the Hawks led 52-51 with nine minutes remaining in the quarter. The Hawks offense was not able to find its footing in the quarter either.

The Hawks’ defense was keeping them in the game from the start, but as has been the case for the past two weeks, the offense and shooting were putrid. Atlanta shot 37% from the field and 25% from three and no player had more than five points. It has been quite the struggle for the Hawks on that end of the floor recently and is one of the main catalysts behind their recent losing streak.

The Rockets offense was not much better, but Jalen Green and Jae’Sean Tate combined for 20 points, nearly outscoring the Hawks themselves in the third. Houston went 13-14 at the free throw line Houston led 82-73 going into the fourth quarter and the Hawks were going to need their offense to find a way to get going if they were going to have a shot.

For much of the fourth, it did not look like that was going to be a reality. Houston led 96-80 with under five minutes left, but the Hawks had one more comeback attempt left in them. They scored nine straight to cut the lead to 96-89 and then Udoka called a timeout to try and slow the Hawk’s sudden momentum.

It didn’t work.

Dyson Daniels got a steal after the timeout then Young and Brooks both exchanged missed baskets. On their next possession, Young drew a foul and hit two free throws to make it 96-91. Atlanta forced another turnover and Krejci got a wide-open look for three but missed it. Thompson drew a foul on the other end and hit both free throws to extend the lead to 98-91. Young led the Hawks down and got another shot to fall to make it a five-point game.

After another Houston turnover, Daniels hit a shot and drew the foul. There was a dust-up between Dillon Brooks and Trae Young that ended with a double technical being assessed, though that did seem like the wrong call. Daniels hit the free throw and the lead was 98-96.

After a Jalen Green miss, the Hawks got a great look for De’Andre Hunter to potentially win the game, but it went in and out. The Rockets avoided being fouled and scored, and the game was over. Houston won 100-96 and extended Atlanta’s losing streak to six games.

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