Zaccharie Risacher Scores 18 in Hawks Debut but Atlanta loses to Washington 94-88 in First Summer League Game

Atlanta faces the Spurs on Sunday for their second summer league game

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) dribbles the ball against the Washington Wizards during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

It was an overall strong debut for No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher tonight for the Atlanta Hawks, but it was not enough for Atlanta to get a win tonight vs the Washington Wizards. It was a highly anticipated showdown between Risacher and No.2 pick Alex Sarr and neither player disappointed, showing their ceilings and ability to create highlight plays.

Risacher would finish with 18 points on 7-16 shooting from the field and 3-9 from three, to go along with five rebounds and two assists. I thought it was an overall strong night for Risacher and his passing was very good tonight. There were questions about Risacher's passing throughout the draft process, but he showed some ability in that area tonight, though it is just one Summer League game.

The other Hawks had nice nights as well, but also showed they had areas of their game that they needed to work on. Second-round pick Nikola Djurisic showcased his passing ability as well, but struggled shooting from the field, going 2-7 and 3-7 from the free throw line. Mouhamed Gueye finished his night with 18 points and three steals, but only shot 4-13 from the field. Guys like Keaton Wallace, Miles Norris, and Dylan Windler also had good nights for the Hawks.

Both offenses struggled tonight, but the Wizards was much better in the second half, and that got them the victory. Let's recap the first game in Las Vegas for the Hawks.

Here was the starting lineup for the Hawks tonight:

G-Nikola Djurisic

G- Zaccharie Risacher

F- Dylan Windler

F- Mouhamed Gueye

C- Rob Baker III

The Hawks got off to a hot start in this game and that was especially true of Risacher. He scored five of the Hawks's first seven points and Atlanta got out to a 12-7 lead. His first basket was very impressive, as he was driving in the lane and finished with his left hand. One possession later he nailed a three. WIth Kobe Bufkin out due to a shoulder injury, 2024 second-round pick Nikola Djurisic was running point for the Hawks tonight and he had the highlight of the first half, and perhaps the game with a thunderous dunk in the first quarter.

NIKOLA ÐURIŠIĆ HOW DO YOU DO pic.twitter.com/KK40uvXnum

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 13, 2024

Despite the hot start for Risacher, the Hawks offense sputtered in the first quarter, only shooting 38% from the field and 25% from three. The good thing was that the defense was playing well and held the Wizards to 27% shooting from the field and 29% from three.

The Hawks defense held through the first part of the second quarter, but the Wizards were able to find a rhythm to tighten the game up. After leading 33-22 with 5:23 left in the second quarter, Washington would take the lead breifly before the Hawks got it back to end the half. Atlanta was trailing by one, but Djurisic found an open man in the corner for a three and Atlanta led 42-40 going into the half.

After a strong start, Risacher missed his final three shots of the half and finished with five points, two assists, and two rebounds on 2-6 shooting . The Hawks shot 33% from the field and 26% from three in the first half while Washington shot 38% from thre floor and 28% from three. Gueye was very active in the first half and finished with eight points and three rebounds, though he was sturggline with foul trouble. Champagnie led the way for Washington with 13 points.

The third quarter saw a close back and forth between the two teams and the Wizards were on top at the end of it 66-65. Risacher stole the show and had the highlight of the quarter with a huge slam dunk in transition.

Mo gets the block and Zacch goes coast-to-coast for the lefty jam ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/0ve5pkgOkt

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 13, 2024

Newly acquired E.J. Liddell was also making plays in the third quarter to keep the Hawks in the game.

Welcome to Atlanta EJ Liddell 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/82IkqhsESz

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 13, 2024

The Hawks and the Wizards would continue to go back and forth and Jarkel Joiner came off the bench to hit a huge three right over Sarr that put Atlanta up four points and it looked like they had started to seize control.

Jarkel Joiner cooking in the 4th pic.twitter.com/sEohgLqKqQ

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 13, 2024

In the end, though, the Wizards got the best of the Hawks as Atlanta could not find any offense late in the game. Washington pulled away and held off a late Atlanta rally to win the game 94-88. Bub Carrington had a huge night for the Wizards scoring 19 points and shooting 4-8 from three. Carrington nearly had a triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists. Champagnie had 18 points and Sarr finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.

Atlanta is back on the court Sunday vs the San Antonio Spurs and the game will tip off at 8:00 p.m. est. Going forward, it will be interesting to see the continued development of guys like Risacher, Djurisic and Gueye. All three guys flashed their upside tonight, but also showed there is still plenty of work to do as Summer League continues.