The Hawks looked to bounce back from their loss Friday night in Boston. They downed the Kings 123-113 at State Farm Arena, marking the Hawks’ 12th consecutive home win.
Saturday’s victory came with the Hawks not at full strength. The Kings have already shut down several of their top rotational players for the season, so the Hawks opted to rest at least three of their own.
The Hawks hosted the Kings without Dyson Daniels (left great toe sprain), Jonathan Kuminga (left knee injury management) and Onyeka Okongwu (left index finger sprain) after a close game against the Celtics the night before.
Quick stats: Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 27 points, seven assists and four steals. Jalen Johnson had 26 points, five rebounds and 10 assists. Jock Landale ended the night with a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Saturday’s win marked Hawks coach Quin Snyder’s 500th regular-season win. He became the 41st coach in NBA history to reach 500 wins and the sixth active coach to do so.
Key moment
The Kings tied the game at 97 with 8:03 to play, with their starters still on the bench. But Johnson took over, and in a little under one minute, he powered an 8-0 Hawks run.
Johnson hit a turnaround midrange jumper, then he fired off a 3-pointer before finding Alexander-Walker for a 3 from the right wing.
It made it a 105-97 lead and put the Hawks ahead for good.
Highlight play
Alexander-Walker has developed into one of the Hawks’ top facilitators. With Daniels sidelined, the Hawks needed Alexander-Walker’s playmaking.
With just under two minutes to play in the second quarter, Alexander-Walker pushed the Hawks’ pace. He found Mouhamed Gueye cutting baseline to the basket with a half-court, left-handed lob.
Alexander-Walker then flashed his willingness to take some risks. With 9:09 to play in the third quarter, he found Johnson with a between-the-legs bounce pass, which split a pair of defenders, for a quick jumper at the basket.
What they said
“It was special. It’s cool. When you’ve been in this league for a while, you realize that coaches, they keep their record, but it’s really the players and the other people that allow for that to happen.” — Snyder on his 500th career win
“I’ve talked to him a lot of just about letting him know things he sees towards the end of the game, how we can play for each other. Sometimes it feels like we want that other person to go be aggressive, which is cool, to have someone who’s in your corner to be aggressive and stuff like that.” — Alexander-Walker on closing out games with Johnson
“I think that’s the Australian way, a little bit, is just constant communication, being really open with each other in a locker room, and being able to have those conversations we don’t have. We try not to have too much of an ego, I suppose. So, just constant communication is the best way for a team to come together.” — Landale on his communication with the team
Up next
The Hawks have a rematch against the Celtics at State Farm Arena on Monday.
Standings watch
With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks remain tied with the Raptors in fifth place in the East following Saturday’s win. They remain a half-game ahead of the seventh-seeded 76ers, who beat the Hornets earlier in the evening.
The Magic, who face the Raptors on Sunday, returned to the eighth seed following the Hornets’ loss to the 76ers. The Hornets’ loss dropped them to the 10th seed behind the Heat. Though both teams have the same record, the Heat own the tiebreaker from the head-to-head series this season.
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