Photo from Hawks Twitter
The Hawks started their 2021-22 campaign looking like the team that got to the Eastern Conference Finals the year prior. The Hawks dominated the Dallas Mavericks in their season-and-home opener, winning 113-87.
It was a balanced effort from the entire Hawks squad with six players scoring in double-figures.
What may be a bit of a surprise, was superstar Trae Young being the second leading-scorer on the team, finishing with a quiet 19 points and 14 assists. Cam Reddish lead the way for Atlanta with 20 points in 21 minutes. An encouraging sign for Hawks fans, as the third-year forward missed a majority of the 2021 season.
The Hawks stifled Mavericks star, Luka Doncic, all night with airtight defense. Between De’Andre Hunter and Reddish, the Slovenian international was not able to get much going, and shot a paltry 6-17 from the field. It was not just Doncic who struggled for the Mavs. The team shot 33.3% from the field overall. When Hunter was the primary defender, he held the Mavs to 1-13 shooting, including 1-9 from Luka Doncic. More impressively, the Hawks held the Mavs to a 83.7 ORTG, which was their lowest performance since March 2017.
Next up for the Hawks is the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, October 23rd at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
