ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks lost 79-76 to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, falling to 0-2 through two games of summer league play.
The matchup was set to be a collision of two top-five draft picks from this draft - pick No. 4 Stephon Castle from the Spurs, and pick No. 1 Zaccharie Risacher from the Hawks - but it didn’t quite play out like that. Castle missed the game with a sprained wrist, and Risacher had a lackluster showing.
After scoring 18 points on 45% shooting the game before, Risacher shot a measly 33% from the field and scored only 12 points on Saturday. He made only one of his seven 3-point attempts.
Despite Risacher’s performance, the Hawks still held their own. Second-year forward EJ Liddell scored 22 points to go alongside four blocks, and his energy kept San Antonio from pulling away during the back-and-forth affair.
The contest saw 14 lead changes and 13 ties as neither team could develop an advantage over the other. The difference came in the fourth quarter when San Antonio forward Nathan Mensah hit a pair of last-minute free throws to give the Spurs a lead for the remainder of the matchup.
Even with the loss, the Hawks showed potential to build on. Second-year center Mouhamed Gueye was one rebound shy of a double-double, and Liddell’s performance was an unexpected bright spot for the team. He will have to keep up that level of play if Atlanta is going to overcome the loss of rookie guard Nikola Đurišić, who fractured his foot in Saturday’s contest.
The Hawks will look to recover from Sunday’s defeat when they face Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.