The Atlanta Hawks blew out the Toronto Raptors, 136-107, to begin their six-game road trip. The Hawks dominated Toronto on both ends of the floor, scoring 30 points off a whopping 31 Raptors turnovers. 22 of those miscues resulted in steals for the Hawks, even though Dyson Daniels, the league leader in steals, missed the game due to illness. Larry Nance Jr. suffered a right-hand injury against the Heat, but Onyeka Okongwu returned to action in Toronto. He scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting after missing the last five games with knee inflammation.
The Raptors never led in this game. They dug themselves a big hole early, turning the ball over six times with only one shot attempt in the opening two minutes. Despite the Hawks’ great defense, they only made two of their first nine shots, so they only had a 12-9 lead after the first four minutes. When Trae Young and Jalen Johnson went to the bench, Atlanta went scoreless for three minutes until De’Andre Hunter hit a mid-range jumper. When Young re-entered, he knocked down back-to-back deep threes, giving the Hawks a six-point lead. Garrison Mathews and Hunter splashed two more triples to end the frame, and Atlanta took a 35-25 lead after the first. The Hawks collected 10 steals off 10 Toronto turnovers in the quarter.
Atlanta opened the second with a 10-2 run to extend their lead, but the Raptors fought back with an 11-2 push to cut the deficit to 44-49 when Johnson and Young sat together once again. However, Hunter went to work in the midrange, taking advantage of any mismatches, especially against Ochai Agbaji. Over four minutes, he scored eight of the last 10 Hawks points to retake a double-digit lead. Just When it looked like the Hawks would go into halftime with momentum on their side, Chris Boucher knocked down a fading 31-foot triple for a 7-0 Raptors run heading into the locker room. Atlanta settled for a 64-58 lead.
In the third period, the Hawks put together a 10-2 and 14-4 stretch to put the game out o reach. Young continued to light up Toronto from beyond the arc. He and Johnson got the paint at will. After Young stole the ball, Johnson found Zaccharie Risacher for an alley-oop slam, but they bumped heads hard after the play. Both players returned after a timeout and showed no lasting effects on the court. While the Hawks’ offense fired on all cylinders, they also held the Raptors to zero field goals in the last 3:30 of the quarter. Atlanta won the frame 40-24 and squashed any hopes of a comeback to begin the final frame.
Trae Young got hot from deep in this one after struggling with his shot against the Miami Heat on Saturday. He scored 34 points on 7-13 shooting from deep and dished out 10 dimes. Hunter had 22 points (8-12 FG), and Garrison Mathews had a career-high six assists with 11 points off the bench. Risacher shot 5-8 from the field for 14 points and grabbed seven boards. Johnson only scored 15 points but swiped six steals.
Toronto only had four double-digit scorers. Scottie Barnes led his squad with 19 points, eight boards, and five assists, while RJ Barrett shot 5-13 from the field for 17 points.
The Hawks began their road trip with a dominant victory. Now, they head west and take on the Denver Nuggets, as they enter 2025 on a four-game win streak.
