RECAP: Hawks Defense Leads The Way In 129-117 Win Over Washington

Atlanta is now 6-7 and has won two games in a row. They travel to Portland on Sunday to begin a road trip on the West Coast

Nov 15, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) dunks against Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas (17), forward Corey Kispert (24), and forward Kyshawn George (18) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Atlanta, GA- The Hawks pulled the biggest upset of the year on Tuesday night vs Boston when they beat the Celtics as 16-point underdogs, but they had to find a way to come back home and beat the Wizards. Washington has been arguably the worst team in the NBA this season, but their two wins this year have come against the Hawks. Atlanta had not played well vs the Wizards coming into tonight, but this game was different. The Hawks played much better defense (led by Dyson Daniels of course) and the offense was a balanced effort. Eight of the ten players who got on the floor for the Hawks got into double-digits.

After having the best game of his career on Tuesday night vs Boston, Daniels had another terrific performance tonight. He scored 25 points and had yet another game where he had six steals. Daniels has been arguably the most impressive defensive player in the NBA so far this season and he continued to just play fantastic on that end of the floor.

Dyson Daniels has 28 steals in his last five games. Nobody else in the NBA has more than 25 steals for the entire season.

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) November 16, 2024

The Hawks allowed 39 points in the first quarter, but followed that up by allowing only 36 in the second and third quarters combined, including 11 in the second quarter. This was arguably the best defensive performance of the year by the Hawks and if it had not been for a poor finish to the 4th quarter, it would have been even better. Overall, the Hawks held Washington to 41% from the field and 35% from three for the game.

While Daniels was the main story from tonight, the return of De'Andre Hunter was right behind it. Hunter had missed the last 10 games for the Hawks, but returned to score 22 points on 7-13 shooting in 20 minutes of game time. Having a healthy Hunter is going to be vital for the Hawks this season.

Young had an inefficient night with 18 points on 5-18 shooting, but he also had nine assists. Johnson had 18 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists and both Clint Capela (10 points and 13 rebounds) and Onyeka Okongwu (13 points and 13 rebounds) had double-doubles. The Hawks shot 47% from the floor in this game and 32% from three. Atlanta led by as many as 28 in this game.

The Hawks are now 2-0 in NBA Cup Group Play and they led East Group C right now. Atlanta got a huge headstart on the group with their win over Boston on Monday and now are undefeated in the group. Their next NBA Cup game is in Chicago next Friday.

This is the second straight victory for the Hawks and they are now 6-7 this season. They will embark on a four game road trip next and it starts on Sunday vs the Trail Blazers.

Let's recap tonight's game.

The Hawks kept their starting lineup the same tonight. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela were the first five on the floor for the Hawks.

Washington went with Bub Carrington, Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, and Alex Sarr.

The early portion of the first quarter was dominated by the Wizards fouling. With 9:56 left in the first quarter, Washington had committed five fouls and was over the limit. That did not stop them on the other end though. In the first two matchups, the Hawks had a hard time stopping the Wizards offense and in the early going, it was much of the same. The Wizards hit three of their first four threes and led 17-13 at the first timeout with 7:14 left in the first quarter. It was a 15-5 run for Washington after the Hawks led 8-2.

The Wizards offense continued to take advantage of Atlanta's defense and it was Kuzma who was carving the Hawks up. Kuzma had a huge first game vs Atlanta but missed the second matchup. He was back for this one and scored 14 points in the first eight minutes of the game. The Wizards stretched their lead to 30-18 and were shooting 67% from the field and 63% from three. Young had four turnovers and was again struggling with the matchup against Coulibaly.

The Hawks used Larry Nance Jr, Keaton Wallace, Onyeka Okongwu, Garrison Matthews, and De'Andre Hunter off the bench in this game. Hunter missed the ten games prior to tonight, but he came in and had seven quick points off the bench.

Dre checks in and immediately scores pic.twitter.com/qbFwtsw5vG

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 16, 2024

Still, the Hawks were trailing at the end of the first and Corey Kispert came off the bench to hit a three as the buzzer sounded and the Wizards held a 39-29 advantage after the opening quarter. Atlanta was shooting 44% from the field and 25% from three in the first while the Wizards were shooting 56% from the floor and 55% from three. Washington had dominated the three point battle in the first two games and were more or less replicating that in the first quarter. Daniels and Hunter were the leading scorers for the Hawks in the first quarter with seven points each.

The second quarter started off much better for Atlanta. The Hawks began the quarter on an 8-0 run and the Wizards missed their first eight shots of the quarter. With 7:35 left in the first half, Atlanta had the lead trimmed down to one point, 41-40.

The Hawks went on to dominate the second quarter and it was due to their defense. Atlanta would hold the Wizards to 17% shooting from the floor and 9% (1-11) shooting from three. It was not a great quarter on offense, but the Hawks defense led the way and they grabbed the lead back. Atlanta led 59-50 at the half.

The Hawks were up by nine despite having only six points from Young and he was shooting 2-9 from the field. Young missed Tuesday's game vs Boston and had not played since last Saturday vs Chicago. Daniels led the way for the Hawks with 13 points and Johnson was having a strong all-around game with 10 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Atlanta shot 43% from the field and 26% from three in the first half.

34 of the Wizards 50 first half points came from Kuzma (18) and Poole (16). Washington shot 36% from the floor and 32% from three in the first half.

The Hawks continued to stretch the lead in the third quarter. Daniels had eight points in the quarter, which got him up to 21 in the game. He continued to be a menace on the defensive end of the court and tallied his fifth steal of the game in the third quarter, which put him in elite company.

Dyson Daniels, currently with 21 points and five steals, has tallied 15+ points and 5+ steals in four straight games, the longest such streak since Michael Jordan did so during the 1989-90 season (3/21/90-3/26/90, also four games).

— Hawks PR (@HawksPR) November 16, 2024

A great sign for the Hawks was that Hunter continued to look confident, especially on the offensive end. He scored 10 points in the third, which gave him 17 for the game. Having a confident Hunter, whether he is starting or not, is huge for the Hawks.

Atlanta was having a great defensive quarter, but the Wizards were able to put something together at the end of the third to prevent it from being a total blow out. Still, Atlanta led 94-75 going into the final quarter.

Dyson steal to Dre bucket! pic.twitter.com/MhBHh2Pt3t

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 16, 2024

Things got sloppy at the end and the Wizards ended up scoring 42 points in the final quarter of play, but the game was never in doubt. The Hawks won the game 129-117 and moved to 6-7 this season. Portland, their next opponent, has been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season and it represents an opportunity for the Hawks to get a win.