The Atlanta Hawks (25-17) stifled the Orlando Magic (20-20) en route to a 98-81 win on Monday.
Orlando has been struggling mightily recently and it all came to a head here. They were manhandled by a better Atlanta team and just played horribly on Monday after their London trip. The Hawks defense has to get some credit though, as they held the Magic to just 35 percent shooting. Atlanta also recorded 30 assists on their 41 made baskets, which is a fantastic ratio. Orlando came into this game as the much better rebounding team, but the Hawks dominated that battle as well.
This gives the Magic their seventh loss in their last eight games and the offense continues to be terrible. They are now averaging a league-worst 87 points per game in that eight-game span and no one can seem to find their rhythm. The starters here shot horrendously, as they combined to go 16-for-46 from the field in the loss. Elfrid Payton made his return to the starting lineup and tallied 16 points and five assists in a solid game. Orlando had to play this game without Victor Oladipo though and it's clear they miss their best playmaker. Aaron Gordon was a bright spot off the bench, as he amassed 18 points and seven rebounds in the defeat. Orlando has a great chance to get out of this rut on Wednesday, when they host the Philadelphia 76ers in their next game.
Atlanta hasn’t been playing their best ball as of late either, but they looked great here. It was their annual Martin Luther King game and this game means as much to Atlanta as anyone in the NBA, considering MLK's hometown is Atlanta. This was an all-around team effort, as the bench scored 49 points of their own with six players scoring in double-figures. In fact, 11 players recorded an assist, 12 players recorded a rebound, and seven players recorded a steal for the Hawks in this win. Paul Millsap had another great all-around game too, as he accumulated 13 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the victory. Atlanta will look to build off this win on Wednesday when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in their next game.
