After a 14–20 start and in the midst of a skid in which the team 11 out of 15 games, the Hawks fired third-year coach Lloyd Pierce in hopes of sparking a midseason turnaround. It’s too soon to tell whether the move will pay immediate dividends, though Atlanta showed a flair for the dramatic in Thursday’s 121-120 win over the Raptors.
Tony Snell’s buzzer-beating three-pointer was just his second bucket of the night, but it gave the Hawks a thrilling victory to push their record to 3–0 since Pierce’s firing.
Hawks guard Trae Young led the way with 37 points on 11-for-24 shooting, with five rebounds and six assists—including an assist on Snell’s game-winning shot. Clint Capela had nine points and a game-high 19 rebounds with five blocks.
For the Raptors, Kyle Lowry had 17 points and 12 assists but also had nine turnovers, which ties a career high. Norman Powell led Toronto with 33 points on 11-for-20 shooting, while Chris Boucher had 29 points off the bench with nine rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.
The win puts the Hawks in a tie for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference with Toronto. The two teams are percentage points ahead of the Pacers and Bulls, who have each played two fewer games.
HERRING: What’s At Stake for the Hawks?
The Hawks have not made the playoffs since 2017, when they were knocked out of the first round by the Wizards in six games. That season marked the end of a 10-year postseason streak, highlighted by a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 2015.