The Atlanta Hawks suffered another disappointing loss at the hands of the Chicago Bulls and DeMar Derozan on Thursday night. Not the outcome many hoped for, especially for a team that is fighting for its spot in the postseason after the All-Star break.
The Hawks played well, competed, and rallied from an early 11-point deficit, but poor late-game execution, once again, reared its head.
A successful challenge gave the Hawks the ball back with an 108-105 lead and only 94 seconds left in the game. Then the collapse came. From that point on the Hawks neither scored nor stopped the Bulls from scoring. The Hawks went on to lose 112-108.
Losing close games has been a part of the Hawks' identity all season. Atlanta has played in 15 games this season that were decided by six points or fewer. They are 6-9 in such games which translates to a 40 percent win rate in close games.
Related
If the Hawks want to make the playoff push, cleaning up their execution in close games down the stretch is a great place to start. Especially with multiple meetings remaining against the Wizards, Nets, Raptors, and Hornets who will all be jockeying for those final Eastern Conference playoff spots.
Listen to Atlanta sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Hawks team gear