Last night, the Atlanta Hawks opened up NBA Cup tourney play against the Washington Wizards and played one of the more entertaining games of their season so far.
However, despite a smoother game, Atlanta struggled to pull it off as the Wizards made it tough throughout. This would also mark the return of former All-Star point guard Trae Young to Atlanta since being traded in January.
Let’s take a look at some of the winners and losers from last nights game in Atlanta.
Winner: Dyson Daniels
Daniels had a major statement in this Hawks win as he finished with nearly a triple double. His performance stood out majorly due to his offensive production as he was dominant in nearly every way possible.
He finished the night with 13 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals, on an efficient 66% shooting from the field. Daniels provided good defense on Young, as he and other Hawks players would continuosly pick him up near half-court and trap him.
Loser: CJ McCollum
McCollum struggled tonight, as he could not seem to get his shot to fall in the previous three games. Since Wednesday’s game, McCollum has elected to come off the bench for rookie point guard Kingston Flemings, whom McCollum felt could gain valuable experience and confidence in the starting role.
Tonight, however, in McCollum’s microwave sixth-man role, he couldn’t get things going as a scorer off the bench. McCollum finished the night shooting a struggling 1-for-10 from the field with four points, four assists, and three rebounds.
Winner: Lu Dort
The biggest surprise of all from last night’s performance for Atlanta was Dort. To start the season, Dort has struggled to adjust to a new role in a new situation, but tonight seemed like a positive step in the right direction.
Filling in as the starting power forward, Dort finished the night with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and made 5 threes.
Loser: Asa Newell
Newell makes the list simply because he injured his ankle in the last game against Washington and couldn’t take advantage of this valuable experience. With Johnson out, this is an amazing opportunity for Newell to prove what he can do with a starting role and more minutes, since he won’t get many chances like this unless injuries continue.
Winner: Onyeka Okongwu
Okongwu has been in a solid stretch over the last five games, averaging a double-double and continuing his strong play last night. Okongwu’s defense was key to the Hawks’ victory, as he made a big-time stop to seal the win with a crucial steal off a late-fourth-quarter alley-oop attempt by Young.
Okongwu finished the night with a strong stat line: 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals on 66% shooting from the field, 66% from three, and 100% from the free-throw line.
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