Hawks’ Quin Snyder points at ‘substantial’ absence as factor in Rockets loss

ATLANTA, GA – Back-to-backs are probably never easy, especially when they’re not consecutive home games. That was the reality for the Atlanta Hawks, as they had just defeated the Boston Celtics before coming back home and having to face the Houston Rockets. They couldn’t complain much; the Rockets were coming off the first game of a back-to-back as well, the only thing was that their best player wasn’t ruled out hours before the game, and their starting center didn’t need dental surgery after taking a blow to the mouth the night before.

The Hawks were without Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu in this matchup, and it was obvious by the end of the first quarter.

“Not having Jalen and Onyeka is substantial,” Quin Snyder said after the game. “Their ability to create advantages, it’s something that we rely on offensively. When we did get into the paint, we were trying to challenge shots, and then we were taking the ball. It was [the Rockets’] tempo in part because of the offensive rebounds, which makes it more challenging for us.

“Those two guys are two of our better players.”

Though they were without two key players, the Hawks were able to keep it close heading into overtime. Both teams looked like they were out of it.

“Back-to-backs are tough; you just gotta push through, try to lock into the game plan,” CJ McCollum said. “Take care of your body, take care of your mind. Obviously, it’s a tough back-to-back for them as well. They flew in on the day of the game, tried to get settled, and it looked like we both played yesterday.”

What was a close game in the first half turned into the complete opposite for the Hawks in the second half. The turnovers led to easy points for the Rockets. They couldn’t grab a rebound, which led to 22 offensive rebounds for the Rockets and many second-chance opportunities. To make matters worse, Kevin Durant remembered who he was.

“When he’s at the nail at the foul line, it’s very difficult to double-team him there, and a lot of times he’ll shoot it before the double comes,” Snyder said. “When you do commit two players to him, that’s when you get hurt on the glass. He’s clearly an elite player. But we did a good job on some of the other guys.”

The Rockets had a double-digit lead in the third quarter, and they upped the score in the fourth quarter. The Hawks tried to give it their all for a potential final push, but they didn’t have enough manpower on offense, and couldn’t get enough stops on defense.

“They got a little bit of everything. It went from down two, to seven, and then it got up to like 15. And it was hard to come back, especially in a low-possession game where they’re getting offensive rebounds,” McCollum said.

“The way we play, we should be able to generate [offense] on our own,” Corey Kispert said. “Houston does a good job of putting their hands on you and slowing you down. There were periods of time during the game you kind of had that flow going, but missing a guy like JJ or O, it takes a while to get used to that. We just couldn’t get it out of the mud today.”

Corey on not having Jalen or Onyeka tonight:

“The way we play, we should be able to generate [offense] on our own. Houston does a good job of putting their hands on you and slowing you down.

“Missing a guy like JJ or O, it takes a while to get used to that.” pic.twitter.com/WOOnlDSTks

— Malik Brown (@_MalikATL) January 30, 2026

Yes, it was a rough day at the office for the Hawks, but they had a lot of things working against them. A second night of a back-to-back, plus missing two key players, is not ideal. The good news is that they shouldn’t find themselves in that predicament very often moving forward.

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