The Oklahoma City Thunder took home a 128-104 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at the Paycom Center on Sunday night. Bogdan Bogdanović remained out (hamstring), but De’Andre Hunter was a new addition to the injury report with knee inflammation. As a result, Head Coach Quin Snyder Started Zaccharie Risacher at small forward. The rookie matched up against Jalen Williams and finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and a block and steal in his first career start.
The final score can be deceiving when talking about this contest as a whole. The Hawks grabbed control of this game early with Trae Young and Jalen Johnson leading the way. They scored the Hawks’ first 11 points, and Atlanta found themselves with a 20-13 advantage quickly. David Roddy made his Hawks debut off the bench and served as a sparkplug early in the contest. He scored a quick five points immediately. 8 first-frame turnovers were the blemish that kept the Hawks from having a larger lead than 27-23 heading into the second.
Garrison Mathews also saw extended minutes with Hunter unavailable. He scored eight quick points to help the struggling Hawks’ offense when Young went to the bench. Atlanta’s bench outscored the Thunder’s 21-6 in the earthly going. When the Hawks’ star guard returned, he helped go on a 15-5 run for a 56-46 lead. The Hawks looked to be in prime position to go into halftime with a lot of momentum; however, OKC responded with an 11-2 to cut Atlanta’s lead to just one point before the buzzer sounded.
The Thunder picked up right where they left off with an 11-4 stretch to start the third frame. 14 Hawks’ turnovers gave OKC easy buckets on the other end in transition. Just when it looked like the game was slipping away, Vít Krejčí, Mathews, and Onyeka Okongwu hit three huge triples to take back an 82-81 lead.
Atlanta only trailed 86-89 heading into the final frame. Dyson Daniels, who shot 3-11 from the field for seven points, had been playing great defense on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander through three quarters. However, the second-place finisher for the MVP last season found his groove in the fourth. He consistently got to the charity stripe, slicing through the Hawks’ defense down the stretch. On the other end, the Thunder’s perimeter defense threw Young and Atlanta out of rhythm. Cason Wallace made two huge defensive stops to ignite some fast-break buckets for his squad, and the Thunder grabbed a 120-100 lead to seal the victory. What was a tight game through three quarters, ended in blowout fashion. When Snyder emptied his bench, Keaton Wallace made his NBA debut and shared the court with Cason Wallace in a cool moment.
After his red-hot start, Young cooled off, finishing with 24 points, eight assists, and 10 turnovers. Johnson struggled from the field for seven points (3-13 FG) and nine rebounds, but Okongwu has played well in the early going. He put up 14 points, while Mathews and Roddy added 14 and 10, respectively, off the bench.
Gilgeous-Alexander filled up the stat sheet with 35 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and three blocks. Chet Holmgren’s dominance to start the season continued with 25 points, nine rebounds, and a whopping six blocks, while Williams was not far behind with 20 points and nine boards.
If Atlanta is to be competitive against top teams, Johnson needs to find his groove. He has a great opportunity Monday night when the Hawks travel back to Atlanta to face the Washington Wizards.
