Jalen Johnson's Late Game Heroics Give Hawks 139-132 Victory Over Philadelphia

Atlanta is now 15-21 after their win over the 76ers

If you needed any further evidence that Jalen Johnson is blossoming into a star in the NBA, tonight gave you plenty of ammo. 

Johnson came up big in overtime to propel the Hawks to victory and he nearly had a triple-double in the process. He was fantastic on both ends of the floor and showed why the Hawks believe he is a cornerstone player for them in the future. 

The Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak and beat the 76ers for the first time all season. Now Atlanta is 15-21 and faces a Pacers team on Friday that will be without Tyrese Haliburton. 

Atlanta came into this game with some injury questions, but they were all answered before tip-off. Clint Capela and Wesley Matthews were ruled out, while Trae Young and Dejounte Murray were available to play. The Hawks started Young, Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. 

With Joel Embiid and Robert Covington out, the 76ers started Tyrese Maxey, De'Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris, Nic Batum, and Paul Reed. 

This game started with a weird flow to it. 

Starting in place of Capela, Okongwu got his chance to shine and in the first quarter, he took full advantage and showed why some think he can be a starting center in the NBA. He had nine points and two rebounds in the first six minutes of the game and Young was finding him at the rim and Okongwu did a good job of finishing and drawing fouls. 

Dejounte Murray vs the 76ers / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

With Wesley Matthew and Garrison Matthews both out, it was going to be interesting to see head coach Quin Snyder's rotations. He went 9-deep on the bench, bringing in Trent Forrest, Patty Mills, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Bruno Fernando. Forrest was mainly asked to guard Maxey. 

For a game that was as back and forth as this one was in the first quarter, the game had a weird flow to it. Atlanta led 34-31, but neither team was playing crisp. 

The 76ers battled back to take the lead into the half, 64-61. Without Embiid or Covington, Philadelphia needed players to step up in their absence and in the first half, the 76ers got big contributions from Marcus Morris, who led the team in scoring with 13. Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris were having their usual games, Morris stepping up was a big difference in the first half. 

The Hawks struggled from three in the first half. They shot 46% from the floor, but only 28.6% from three. Okongwu had 13 points and six rebounds, Murray had 13 points, Jalen Johnson had five points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, and Young had seven points and seven assists. 

Both teams scored 34 points in the third quarter and the 76ers led by three going into the final frame. 

THROOW IT DOWN 17 pic.twitter.com/TIWPPsKMCO

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 11, 2024

The Hawks held a five-point lead with five minutes left, but that is when the 76ers stars started making baskets. Maxey had an electric fourth quarter and it looked like his heroics were going to win Philadelphia the game. He hit a three to extend Philadelphia's lead to 125-121 with 53.7 seconds to go and things were looking bleak for the Hawks. In the fourth quarter, stars are supposed to step up and both of the 76ers stars did that tonight. Maxey and Harris combined for 23 points in the fourth quarter. 

Then Johnson took the game back. 

Johnson hit a bucket and was fouled in the process and the Hawks had a chance for a three-point play. He hit the free throw and Atlanta trailed by one. They got a stop on the defensive end and had a chance to win the game. 

One of the keys to the game going in that I wrote about this morning was about free throws. Both Philadelphia and Atlanta are two of the best teams at getting to the free-throw line, but despite the Hawks being a good free-throw shooting team, it cost them in Sunday's loss to the Magic. 

It looked like that might be the case tonight as well. 

With a chance to win the game, the Hawks had possession of the ball and it was Young who drove to the basket and was fouled. All he needed to do was hit two free throws and Atlanta was going to beat the 76ers. 

He missed the first. 

Trae Young vs the 76ers / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Young had to hit the second one and he did just that. The game was going to overtime. 

The big development early in overtime was the fact that Maxey had five fouls. He was one away from fouling out and Young revealed after the game that he knew Maxey had five fouls: 

"Yeah I knew. Yeah I knew he had five fouls. I knew that he was not going to try and foul again."

Maxey fouled out and the 76ers were suddenly down their best offensive player available. Still, they led 132-129 with 1:44 left on the clock. 

The rest of the overtime period was owned by Jalen Johnson. 

Johnson was fouled with 1:07 left and he hit both free throws to tie the game. After forcing a steal on the other end, Murray found Johnson on the wing for a three and he nailed it. The Hawks took the lead and would win the game by seven. It was a much-needed win for the Hawks, who have a string of games upcoming that are all very winnable. 

JALEN DOES IT ALL pic.twitter.com/l1CHA6Q7oQ

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 11, 2024

Quin Snyder talked about the final sequence between Murray and Johnson after the game and said that it was all about trusting each other:

"To make that pass to Jalen... tonight was about us trusting each other and competing collectively like that."

The Hawks had six players reach double-figures, with three guys scoring at least 20 points. Johnson finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists. Young had 28 points and 11 assists and Murray finished with 25 points, five assists, and five rebounds. Okongwu filled in for Capela and had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Saddiq Bey also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. 

Atlanta shot 47.1% from the field and 35.3% from three tonight. Philadelphia shot 45.1% from the floor and 35.3% from three. 

Tyrese Maxey had 35 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Tobias Harris had 32 points and 10 rebounds. 

Atlanta has another home game up next. The Hawks will host the Pacers on Friday and they will be without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Tip-off will be at 7:30. 

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