The headlines coming into this one were about Trae Young vs. Luka Doncic, but it turned out to be a complete team victory for the Atlanta Hawks over the Dallas Mavericks. Atlanta had eight players score in double-digits for their 130-122 victory.
Young had one of his most efficient games of the season, finishing with an 18-point, 12-assist double-double. He shot a respectable 5-11 from the field and only attempted one three-pointer, which missed. Much like it has been on this winning-streak, the Hawks’ star deferred to his new All-Star teammate, Dejounte Murray, who had a monster game with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, while shooting 12-18 from the field overall.
Atlanta got great minutes off the bench from A.J. Griffin, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the re-implemented, Clint Capela. Those three alone combined for 38 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists off the pine. Every player that played for the Hawks, besides Onyeka Okongwu, posted a net zero plus/minus or better.
John Collins, who is starting to find his groove, had another great outing against the Mavericks. He finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Collins boasts a career average of 23.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists, against Dallas, per Statmuse.com.
Dallas had three players finish with 20+ points, led by Doncic with 30, Christian Wood with 22 and Spencer Dinwiddie with 20, but it was not enough against the balanced-team effort from the Hawks.
The Hawks once again destroyed their opposition in the three-ball department, shooting 50%, going 13-26 from deep. Dallas actually hit more three’s but on worse efficiency hitting only 16-42 for 38.1%.
The Hawks look to extend their four-game winning-streak against the New York Knicks at home on Friday night. The last time these teams met was early-December when the Knicks routed the Hawks. Atlanta hopes to go up 2-1 in the season series at 7:30 p.m. eastern Friday night from State Farm Arena.
