Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder reflected on his team’s effort following a 112-110 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday at State Farm Arena. “We had no timeouts to maybe try and get something set… really trust CJ with the ball. We got it into a position where we were going to get a good shot. Either he was going to get one or he was going to kick it out and ball just got tipped,” Snyder said.
He acknowledged the difficulty of controlling outcomes in high-pressure situations. “It’s hard to fault… we actually executed. We didn’t sometimes you do that you don’t get the right result… we had guys spaced. JJ [Jalen Johnson] was in trail and ball just got tipped,” he explained.
Snyder praised his team’s second-half performance despite early struggles from beyond the arc. “It’s really easy when you’re not seeing the ball go in the basket to let up, get frustrated… holding a team like that to what we did and just continuing to grind… gave us an opportunity to stay in the game,” he said.
The Hawks’ shooting woes did not overshadow their effort, Snyder noted. “I think that it’s really easy to look at the score and feel like you’re doing something wrong… But the fact that we kind of hung in there and put up 70 points plus in the second half, I thought was really good,” he said.
He highlighted the role of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson in maintaining team resolve. “Nickeil might be the best example of that. JJ as well… He missed a couple early that he can make and he didn’t get discouraged at all. None of them were thinking about stats when they were playing,” Snyder added.
Snyder also discussed the defensive contributions of Asa Newell and Mouhamed Gueye. “Mo gives us a defensive presence with his length… There was a point where we felt like Asa could give us a lift. And he’s done a really good job in those situations as well,” he said, emphasizing their complementary roles.
Despite the loss, Snyder stressed the importance of process over immediate results. “If we continue to play that way, the scoreboard will reflect it… the things we can control are the kind of shots we’re getting, and we were getting great looks,” he said.
Atlanta falls to 20-25, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker scoring 32 points and Jalen Johnson adding 28 points and 16 rebounds. Milwaukee improves to 18-24, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 21 points and 17 rebounds. Both teams return to action on Wednesday, with the Hawks visiting Memphis and the Bucks hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder.
