Hawks’ Kevin Huerter reveals what motivated team in Game 3

The Atlanta Hawks put together a big performance against the New York Knicks on Friday, posting a 105-94 win that wasn’t even as close as the score would indicate. It seems there was a motivating factor behind the Hawks coming out and playing the way they did.

Hawks guard Kevin Huerter revealed that two key incidents from the second half of Game 2 made the team angry when watching film, and the team focused on not letting the Knicks beat them physically in Game 3.

Kevin Huerter said Hawks watched film of Game 2 and realized they got punked by Knicks in second half. Two plays in particular: Bogdanovic getting elbowed in face and Hunter getting knocked to ground by Bullock. …It became point of emphasis not to let that happen again.

— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) May 29, 2021

Physical play has been a hallmark of the series. Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan has made it a key point publicly, too.

There was one moment where the Hawks seemed to be setting the tone early in Game 3. It definitely worked out, as they’re up 2-1 in the series and the Knicks look badly off on offense. Now it’s up to New York to mount a response.