LATEST: Raptors defeat Atlanta 123–121, resulting in the Hawks’ third consecutive loss.

Before playing today against the Raptors in their first game since the NBA All-Star Break, the Hawks had not played since last Wednesday. They were hoping to start the next phase of the season strong.

That is not the case. The Hawks performed much the same tonight. When they needed to, they were unable to get any defensive stops, and they were also unable to

Tonight’s starts for Atlanta were Clint Capela, Jalen Johnson, Saddiq Bey, Dejounte Murray, and Trae Young.

Immanuel Quickley, Gary Trent Jr., Jordan Nwora, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl were among the first players in Toronto.

It is difficult to envision Atlanta’s game getting off to a worse start.

They started the game 1-9 from the field, with the one basket coming from a Capela field goal. They fared well on the offensive boards to earn themselves some second chances. Halfway in the quarter, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder had to call a timeout due to the Raptors’ rapid 20-7 advantage.

It was going to be interesting to watch how the Hawks managed those extra minutes with Capela on a minutes restriction. Jalen Johnson, Bruno Fernando, and Capela took turns at center. Tonight, the Hawks used a nine-man rotation, with Garrison Matthews, De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Fernando coming off the bench.

The Hawks’ offense had a poor first quarter, and at the end of the first quarter, they were behind the Raptors 33–22.

The Hawks’ attack picked up steam in the second quarter, and Fernando’s explosive energy off the bench was a major contributing factor. The Hawks trailed 42–37 after about three and a half minutes of play in the second quarter.

As the first half came to a finish, things started to become fascinating.

Young collapsed in agony at 4:27 when Poeltl was not signaled for an obvious moving screen. Snyder got dismissed after complaining with the referee over not getting called for anything.

The Hawks’ frustrations in the second quarter did not end there. De’Andre Hunter was later assessed a technical foul.

After the game, Snyder talked about his frustration and mentioned that he believed there had been a foul and that Young might have been hurt.

The Hawks’ annoyance with the officials and the removal of Snyder may have dominated the second quarter, but at the end of the first half, they had outscored the Raptors 42–32 and were only behind by one, 65–64.

The Hawks would go on to shoot 44% from the field and 40% from three after getting off to a terrible start. With 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists, Murray took the lead. Fernando scored ten points in the first half, having a great game.

In the first half, Toronto shot 35% from three and 49% from the field. Scottie Barnes finished with 14 points and 6 assists, while Quickley scored 18 points.

The Hawks offense got off to a steady start in the third quarter, but things did not continue that way. Atlanta was unable to score from beyond the arc even though Murray scored ten points in the quarter. The Raptors shot 5-9. The Hawks hit 1-6 from three. Everyone gave it their all, and after three quarters, Toronto had a 96-90 lead. Young’s inability to get going when shooting the ball contributed to the offensive setback. Only six points had been scored by him after three quarters.

The Hawks struggled to get enough stops in the fourth quarter. When it mattered most, Atlanta was unable to stop the Raptors from using backdoor cutters and driving to the basket, which was killing the Hawks.

With 18.3 seconds left and behind by three, the Hawks were eventually able to come to a halt. After using a timeout, the Hawks threw the ball in. Murray received the ball and was about to turn the corner when the referee ruled that he had gone out of bounds. Whether he did or not was debatable, but the Hawks did not present a challenge. The Hawks lost by two and for the third time in a row as Toronto scored on the other end, despite Young’s last-second three-pointer.

The officials declared that Murray’s foot was in fact out of bounds after the game.

Atlanta shot 31% from three and 43% from the field for the game. Their poor three-point shooting in the second half was a major factor in their failure to win. In the second half, Toronto shot 7-16 while the Hawks shot 4-19.

With 24 points, Murray took the lead tonight, followed by Hunter with 22 (15 in the second half), and Bey with 18. Young scored just 11 points, which was a season-low. Hunter played quite well once more while coming off the bench.

From the field, Toronto shot 49%, and from three, 39%. Barnes scored 20, Quickley scored 24, and freshman Grady Dick scored 18 points off the bench.

Compared to the Hawks’ nine fast break points, Toronto had 22.

The Hawks had a chance to win this particular game. The Hawks would have won if Bogdanovic had shot better, Young had played better, Capela had made fewer early-game mistakes, and the Hawks had shot better in the second half. However, it was the Hawks’ third consecutive defeat, and they are still in 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks’ next chance to victory will come on Sunday when they play the Orlando Magic at home.