The Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 125-111 on Saturday to kick off their three-game road trip. Georges Niang, Caris LeVert, and Terance Mann all made their Hawks debuts. Head Coach Quin Snyder started Niang at power forward to provide some much-needed shooting in the starting lineup. Niang played four seasons in Utah under Snyder, so he is more familiar with what the Hawks’ skipper expects. On the Wizards’ side, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Khris Middleton, Marcus Smart, and Alex Len were not available.
Both teams were cold offensively in the first few minutes. Washington shot 4-13, and the Hawks were 3-11 from the field. However, Dyson Daniels scored half of Atlanta’s first 14 points, and Zaccharie Risacher cut well without the ball, finding a couple of layups early. The Wizards led 20-14 inside the three-minute mark of the first frame, but Vít Krejčí, LeVert, and Trae Young hit three consecutive triples to give their squad a two-point lead. Washington punched right back though, ending the quarter on a 6-0 run for a four-point lead heading to the second.
The Hawks started the game 8-20 from deep but only had a one-point lead early in the frame because they struggled to finish in the paint. Young caught fire midway through the quarter, going on a 9-2 run by himself to give his squad a 58-56 lead. Atlanta extended this stretch to 14-2 to take a five-point advantage at halftime. Young shot 6-9 from the field, including 2-2 from deep, in the frame for 17 points. The Hawks shot 11-25 from downtown and 12-28 on two-point shots in the first half.
Niang led Atlanta’s charge in the third quarter. He knocked down four consecutive triples in four possessions after the Hawks extended their lead to double digits. Risacher also had seven points in a short spurt to increase the lead. Suddenly, Atlanta found itself in a comfortable position, up 104-83 after a 41-point frame. It also held the Wizards to 25 points on 8-22 shooting.
Just when the Hawks thought they had the win locked up, Washington made a big push. Bub Carrington and Jordan Poole led a 15-4 run to cut Atlanta’s lead to 12. The Hawks did not score between 8:58-5:55 on the game clock. However, when Carrington cashed in triple to make it a single-digit affair, Krejčí returned the favor a few seconds later. From this moment, Atlanta found its rhythm and did not let the lead fall back under 10 points for the rest of the game.
Young led the Hawks with 35 points (13-26 FG) and 14 assists, and Risacher continued his strong shooting for 18 points on 8-12 from the field. Niang finished with 16 points (4-7 3PT), six boards, and three steals, while Larry Nance Jr. added 14 points off the bench.
Jordan Poole tallied 21 points with six assists but did not hit his first triple until the fourth quarter. Bilal Coulibaly had 17 points and seven rebounds, while Carrington scored 21 in the second half to finish with 23 points and seven dimes.
The Hawks travel to take on the Orlando Magic on Monday. They have just two more games remaining before the All-Star break next week.
