"ATL ReKap: Hawks' Tough Night, Bulldogs' Victory, and Braves Shine in All-MLB Team"

Good evening, everyone, and welcome back to another ATL ReKap blog. I hope you all are having a wonderful end to the second week of December as Christmas and New Year's are right around the corner. Unfortunately, the Hawks faced the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight and fell short 127-119. Clint Capela joined the injury report before the game due to a knee injury, bringing a significant weakness to the Hawks in the paint, resulting in fewer rebounds.

Trae Young once again led the Hawks in scoring with 35 points, going 11-21 from the field and 7-12 from beyond the arch. One of Young's threes had Max Strus on ice skates, creating a wide-open corner three opportunities. Young contributed 4 rebounds, along with 10 assists and a block. Dejounte Murray followed Young in scoring with a total of 21 points, reaching 6,000 career points tonight. He went 8-19 from the field but unfortunately missed all 5 of his 3-point attempts. Murray also had 3 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal, and a block.

DeAndre Hunter returned to fill in for the injured Clint Capela after a three-game hiatus due to a knee injury. Hunter scored 18 points, going 5-7 from the field and 2-2 from three-point range. Onyeka Okongwu put up 16 points, going 7-12 from the field and 2-4 from beyond the arch. Bruno Fernando led the Hawks in scoring off the bench with 13 points, going 5-7 from the field. Bruno had a monstrous slam dunk on defender Sam Merrill that had the whole arena going crazy.

The Hawks are set to face the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at 7:30 PM. The Hawks are favored to win 87% to 13%, which seems reasonable given that the Pistons have only won 2 games this season. Stay tuned after the game for a recap.

Now, let's switch gears to the UGA Bulldogs, who faced the High Point Panthers tonight, winning 66-58. Freshman Silas Demary Jr. led the Dawgs in scoring with 12 points, going 4-7 from the field and 2-2 from beyond the arch. Demary Jr. also contributed 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Noah Thomasson and Russel Tchewa followed Demary Jr. in scoring, both with 11 points.

Frank Anselem-Ibe and RJ Melendez came off the bench to spark two second-half runs, helping Georgia hold off High Point 66-58. Demary made 4 of 7 shots, and Melendez had 11 points and seven rebounds. Russel Tchewa scored 11 with six boards. Georgia will host Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday at 7:00 PM. The Bulldogs are favored to win 88% to 12%, so this game is basically already determined, but again, anything can happen. Stay tuned after the game for a recap.

A quick update on the Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley, and Spencer Strider headline the list of five Braves elected to this year’s All-MLB Team. Acuña, Riley, and Strider earned First Team selections at their respective positions. Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies were elected to the Second Team.

The announcement was made Saturday night during MLB Network’s All-MLB Team Show presented by MGM Rewards. Acuña produced one of the game’s most incredible seasons, becoming the first player to hit 40-plus homers and tally 70-plus stolen bases in the same season. He earned his first NL MVP Award after hitting .337 with 41 home runs, 217 hits, 80 extra-base hits, 106 RBIs, 149 runs, a 1.012 OPS, and 84 strikeouts.

Riley led all MLB third basemen with 5.2 fWAR, recording his third straight 30-homer season and hitting .281 with 37 homers and a .861 OPS. Strider was the Majors’ only 20-game winner this year, and his franchise-record 281 strikeouts were 44 more than any other Major Leaguer. Olson led the Majors and set Modern Era franchise records with 54 homers and 139 RBIs. He also led the NL with a .604 slugging percentage. Albies hit 33 homers and produced a .849 OPS.

This was the 26-year-old switch-hitter’s second 30-homer season. Ronald Acuña Jr. was also named the NL Hank Aaron Award Winner of the Year. Shohei Ohtani, who recently signed a record-breaking $700 million 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, won the AL Hank Aaron Award Winner of the Year with no doubt, as he is unreal.