Hawks’ Jalen Johnson reveals ‘huge’ factor that caused loss vs. Hornets

ATLANTA, GA – The Atlanta Hawks had the Charlotte Hornets – winners of their last eight games – right where they wanted them midway through the fourth quarter. They had just fought back after being down nine points early in the quarter, and a Zaccharie Risacher three-pointer gave them a three-point lead with less than eight minutes remaining. The Hawks didn’t have the lead for much longer, and they went cold down the stretch, leading the Hornets to win their ninth straight game.

If you looked at the game, you wouldn’t think that the Hawks were too far apart from the Hornets; they just missed a lot of shots when it mattered the most. Pick up the stat sheet, and you see one of the biggest tipping points of the matchup was the rebounding.

The Hornets had a +19 advantage on the boards, and that’s what ultimately doomed the Hawks for the entire game.

“The rebounding was a huge thing coming into the game,” Jalen Johnson said. “I just don’t think we did the best job on the glass tonight. I gotta be better on the glass, but we also gave up a lot of open looks, and that was a part of it too. Overall, I think we played a solid game.”

“I thought in the beginning of the game we did a really good job on the glass, and we were able to get out,” Quin Snyder said. “I think we were playing well during that point. A lot of it, you just have to grind on it, on both ends, to the extent that we can close that gap with us getting more offensive rebounds. That’s another way to address it, it’s the possession game. It’s something that’s been a focal point for us from Day 1, whether it’s taking care of the ball, crashing, or giving up offensive rebounds.”

Moussa Diabate had 15 rebounds, and five of them were offensive. Ryan Kalkbrenner only had five rebounds, but four of them were offensive.

In total, the Hornets had 16 offensive rebounds, and the Hawks finished with just five.

It’s been an area that the Hawks have struggled at since the beginning of the season, and they’re near the bottom of the league in that category. Nonetheless, in this game, the Hawks still gave themselves a chance near the end to win. It started with Jalen Johnson, who finished with 31 points, with 25 of them coming in the second half.

Though he didn’t have it going in the first half, he still found a way to make an impact on the game.

“I might miss my first couple shots in the game, and other guys might have it going, so that opens up for me to playmake,” Johnson said. “Obviously, when the time is right, I pick my spots, I’ll be aggressive when I need to be, and that approach has helped me to stay even keel when I’m not shooting the ball well to start the game.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to reel the Hawks to the victory, and they’ll get another chance when they play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 9.

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