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After a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors looked to get back on track against the Atlanta Hawks. In tournament play, a loss would send the loser into the consolation bracket, and end their hopes of capturing another NBA Summer League title. With the aspirations to repeat at Summer League champions, the Warriors would need to shake off the last second loss to the Lakers and bounce back and beat a talented Hawks squad. Unfortunately, the Hawks took a page out of the Lakers’ playbook and beat the Warriors in the final seconds of the game. Check out the game recap below:
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1st Quarter
Ognjen Kuzmic gets them going early with a sweet jumper as he puts the first two points up for the Warriors. Next, James Michael McAdoo gets the bench and crowd riled up with a thunderous slam. At this point, there has been very balanced scoring from the Warriors. In this game, they came out much stronger and with more focus than they did last game. The Warriors continued to attack the basket, but have given up many easy buckets. The score stays tight early, but they hit a snag midway through the first. The Hawks, behind the leadership of Dennis Schroder, were able to grab a three point lead. Craft once again shows why he is one of the better perimeter defenders in this tournament, pressing the opposition and forcing a turnover. The Warriors weren’t able to finish as they started, but played a good quarter overall. The Hawks end the first quarter up 19-18. Nemanja Nedovic and James Michael McAdoo led the Warriors with five points a piece and Schroder leads all scorers with 10.
2nd Quarter
The game continues to go back and forth, but Coach Kerr is relying on Travis Bader to knock down some three point shots. The Warriors had some problems finding a rhythm and Schroder continued to tear them apart. Midway through the second quarter, the Warriors found themselves down by six. While Schroder is on the floor, he’s had the ability to control the pace. The Warriors have been focused on stopping him which has led to Schroder hitting the open man and making the correct basketball play. The Warriors aren’t able to get consecutive stops, which gives Atlanta a comfortable lead. Craft and Schroder really went at it and both have gotten the best out of one another. After being down by as much as eight, the Warriors are able to cut the deficit to four. At the half, the Hawks continue to maintain the lead at 38-34. At this point the scoring was still balanced for the Warriors, but Schroder has been impressive with 13 points so far.
3rd Quarter
The third quarter began and the Hawks are not missing a beat on the offensive end. Nedovic is able to split the defense and deliver a pretty finish, helping the Warriors stay within striking distance. After sitting most of the second quarter, Nedovic looked active and was in attack mode. The referees seem to be giving the Hawks the benefit of the doubt with a many questionable calls, which was really killing any momentum for the Warriors. The Warriors have been playing decently, but there is not fluidity to their offense. Although the lead has not surpassed double digits, the Warriors cannot get closer than four points. Craft is playing really well against Schroder and continued to bother him on the perimeter. Unfortunately, the refs keep bailing Schroder out and dismissing Craft’s impressive work on the German. It begins to get ugly for the Warriors, but they are battling and crawling. After three quarters, the Warriors found themselves down 60-48. Nedovic came up big in the third and moved his scoring total to 10 points, but the Hawks have four players in double figures.
4th Quarter
The Warriors needed a lot to come back in this game. They brought out their starting five to start the fourth and needed a collective effort to get them back into this game. Kuzmic looked active early as they cut the lead down to nine. Justin Holiday is showing that he is dangerous inside and out, knocking down contested jumpers and finishing around the rim. Just when you thought the Warriors were ready to make a run, the refs were there to stall their progress. The Warriors were getting good looks, but could not convert them into points.The stops were coming and at this point they needed to score. The Warriors are not going down without a fight, showing some heart here midway through the quarter. Nedovic creates a lane with a crafty move but is unable to convert. Luckily he draws the foul and sinks both free throws. After what seemed to be a costly turnover, the refs finally gave the Warriors a call and called an offensive basketball interference on the Hawks. On the ensuing possession, Holiday sinks quick bucket and after being down double digits, the lead had suddenly dropped to just one. the Warriors down one. The Warriors were able to get a stop on the other end and McAdoo would get fouled as he goes to the hole, but missed both free throws. The Hawks called a timeout and the Warriors almost come away with a steal on the inbounds pass. Once again, the Warriors aren’t able to take advantage of the opportunity, but they were still down three after an intentional foul. Justin Holiday would get an opportunity to tie the ball game with a last second attempt, but the ball went in and out and the Warriors are officially not able to repeat as NBA Summer League Champions.