The San Antonio Spurs walked into State Farm Arena on Monday night in hopes of bouncing back from a tough loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. The NBA had a full slate of games for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and with Victor Wembanyama back on the court after a one-game absence, the Spurs were looking to take down the Atlanta Hawks.
Things started off rough for San Antonio. The Hawks were up by 35 points at halftime, and the game looked over. But that’s when Wembanyama turned it on. The Spurs slowly battled their way back, but it was ultimately too late, as the Hawks took home a 109-99 victory.
After the game, Hawks star Trae Young spoke about the Spurs’ comeback, noting that Atlanta just took their foot off the gas.
“I think obviously we did a good job in the first half, the attention to detail and the focus we had was huge for us,” Young said via ESPN. “In the second half, I just think we got too relaxed.”
Wembanyama did all of his scoring in the second half. After an 0-of-4 first half that saw him drop a donut in the scoring column, he exploded. In the second half, Wembanyama had 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting, including an 18-point fourth quarter on 8-of-10 shooting.
As for Young, he finished the game with 36 points, six rebounds, and 13 assists while shooting 11-of-24 from the floor and 6-of-11 from behind the three-point line.
The Hawks nearly blew it, but the Spurs just couldn’t complete the comeback.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]