The Hawks welcomed Trae Young and the Wizards into their building for their first of five group stage NBA Cup games of the season. They’d have to find a way to win missing Jalen Johnson, Asa Newell, and Jock Landale among others — although Anthony Davis was not available for the other side.
The good guys came out blazing, using their solid team defense to force turnovers and create easy opportunities going the other way. Nickeil Alexander-Walker remained scorching from deep:
Atlanta raced out to an early 20-10 lead with help from their rookie phenom Kingston Flemings:
Atlanta let the Wizards storm back once the bench came in, however. Down just about all of their reserve fours and fives, Washington went on a 22-8 run to close the quarter.
Kingston Flemings had a mini takeover in the early part of the second quarter. He and the other first-round rookie, Zuby Ejiofor, powered the Hawks with some nice link ups:
The second quarter remained close until the starters re-entered the game. They executed at a high level on both ends of the floor and pushed the margin to a seven-point lead at halftime.
Standout performers from the 66-59 first half include Nickeil Alexander-Walker (16 points on 5-for-10 shooting), Dyson Daniels (four points, nine rebounds, and seven assists) and Kingston Flemings (nine points on 4-for-5 shooting and two assists in just 11 minutes).
In the third quarter, Luguentz Dort of all people decided to take over on both ends of the floor. He was everywhere, picking off lazy passes and crashing the offensive glass for easy scores. Here was just one example:
After that, Zuby Ejiofor had a nice cameo on the third quarter, injecting some hustle and off ball rim runs into the works. His efforts helped push the Hawks lead to 105-94 with one quarter remaining.
The Hawks kept the Wizards mostly at bay early in the fourth quarter, although Washington seemingly matched every three ball for three ball. In fact, the Wiz went 12 for their first 18 three-point attempts in the second half.
Washington made a big push towards the end of the game behind Kyshawn George’s scoring explosion, but some key buckets from Lu Dort of all people were key to closing the door:
Atlanta squeaked out a 139-132 win to move to 6-4 and 1-0 in the NBA Cup.
Luguentz Dort was the star man with 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 28 points, and Dyson Daniels was one rebound short of a triple double (13 points and 12 assists).
The Hawks have a quick turnaround against the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow at 7:30 PM EST.
