The Atlanta Hawks have navigated a turbulent week – from Trae Young having reported issues with head coach Nate McMillan, to dealing with the absences of Dejounte Murray and John Collins. However, the Hawks entered their Monday night clash against the Memphis Grizzlies on a high after an exhilarating game-winner from rookie AJ Griffin.

Alas, no one expected the Hawks to do much of anything on Monday, given the absences of Young, Clint Capela, and Bogdan Bogdanovic on the second night of a back-to-back. Nonetheless, the Hawks still managed to perform worse than expected en route to a 128-103 drubbing at the hands of the Grizzlies, who were without Ja Morant as well.

And in the process, Nate McMillan couldn't help but quote Daft Punk when asked how the Grizzlies managed to outperform his team in every facet of the game.

“They were faster, better, stronger,” McMillan said, per Caleb Johnson, Hawks beat reporter for 92.9 The Game.

The Grizzlies definitely worked harder and made themselves better than the Hawks all night long. Led by Tyus Jones, arguably the best backup point guard in the league, Memphis shot 60.2 percent from the field and outmuscled the Hawks in the paint all night long. Hour after hour, the Grizzlies put the Hawks in a torture chamber from which they were instantly crushed.

“Tonight, they pounded us in the paint,” McMillan added. “They established, set and control tempo from the start… made our defense work all night long… They totally controlled this game from start to finish.”

Could the Hawks get lucky when they go face-to-face against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night? Nate McMillan will sure hope so, especially with Trae Young expected to return for their next game.