The Atlanta Hawks entered the 2024 NBA Cup semi-final game as one of the hottest teams in the NBA. With a 7-1 record over the last eight games and coming off of victories against possible title contenders (Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavs, and New York Knicks).  Facing the surging Milwaukee Bucks coached by Doc Rivers with NBA All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Hawks needed to maintain their hot streak for a chance to compete in the NBA Cup championship held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.  Led by Trae Young who poured in 35 points and dished out 10 assists, the Hawks would keep the Bucks at length for three quarters. However, the Hawks were undone due to a a dismal 4th quarter where they only notched 19 points. The team appeared to lose focus down stretch, missing a few wide-open shots and not taking care of business at the free throw line missing 12 attempts. The 12 free throw misses proved to be costly because the Hawks would lose by eight points, 110-102.  Although the team had hopes of taking home the Emirates Cup, they look forward to using the experience as an opportunity to build.  “What we have to do is to continue to try to build an identity,”Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “And this was an opportunity to play in some situations and some games against really good teams,and try to do that, and you find out about yourself. You find out when you’re in a game like this, you’re able to look back and say, we need to do this better.” The Hawks were picked by most NBA pundits to finish 10th or out of play-on contention. But as the young Hawks continue to grow, they could position themselves to be a threat come playoff time.  “I felt strongly that we can’t get too high and we can’t get too low,” Snyder said. “We were picked 10th in the Eastern Conference. I think the challenge for us is to really stay focused on improving and wherever that takes us, we’ll see. There’s no question we wanted to win, but at the same time, we have to understand the things that we need to do so that winning takes place. And if we keep that approach and try to continue to improve, I don’t know where we end up in that regard.” The Hawks will jump back into regular season action on Thursday as they face the San Antonio Spurs.    The post Atlanta Hawks Fall Short In NBA Cup Semi-Final, Seek To Build On Learning Lessons appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.