Josh Hart and the Portland Trail Blazers (26-41) took on Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks (34-34) in part of the NBA Monday slate. It was the Hawks who came out on top with 122-113 being the final score.
Portland held a 67-58 halftime lead but back-to-back 30+ point quarters from the Hawks was enough to overtake the lead and get the win. Trae Young dropped 46 points to set the tone for Atlanta, but outside of his shot attempts, the team shot 25-78 (32.1 percent) from the floor.
There was a major reliance on free-throw shooting as they went 30-32 (93.8 percent) from the Hawks to overcome their abysmal scoring efficiency from the floor and from deep. The Portland Trail Blazers turning it over 20 times only helped, too.
For the Trail Blazers, it’s clear they are positioned to sink as close to the bottom of the Western Conference standings as possible. Damian Lillard is out, they stripped the tires at the NBA trade deadline, and now, even Anfernee Simons is out.
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Portland is still going to come out and compete as they did in their last outing when they won 127-118 against the Washington Wizards. Josh Hart dropped 44 points in what became a surprise victory.
This was the second night of a back-to-back for the Atlanta Hawks but with both parts having been played at home. Trae Young dropped 47 points in their 131-128 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
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The issue for the Hawks this season is that for all of the great results on offense they achieve, they still have significant shortcomings on defense that hold them back.
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