Hawks 120-116 Nets (Oct. 23, 2024) Game Recap

ATLANTA – Trae Young had 30 points, Onyeka Okongwu scored a career-high 28 and the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a 120-116 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

Young, who also had 12 assists, sealed the win with two free throws with two seconds left.

Okongwu made 11 of 12 field throws and all six free throws, surpassing his previous best of 22 points.

Cam Thomas led the Nets with 36 points, but that wasn't enough to prevent Jordi Fernández from losing in his debut as an NBA head coach.

Atlanta's Jalen Johnson, coming off a $150 million contract extension, had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Zaccharie Risacher, the first overall pick in the NBA draft, shot from 3-point range for the first time but scored just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting for the Hawks.

Takeaways

Nets: Thomas should be able to put up some big numbers for a rebuilding team that doesn't have many weapons.

Hawks: Dyson Daniels, the No. 8 pick in 2022, hasn't done much in his first two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans. But the Australian guard showed signs of turning things around with the Hawks. He had 15 points and five steals on Wednesday.

Key moment

Brooklyn's Nic Claxton was sent off with 8:03 left when he took a clothesline shot to Daniels' neck while the Hawks guard was making a layup.

Daniels quickly jumped up and went behind the basket at Claxton, who was among the fans. No punches were thrown, but the incident seemed to fire up the Hawks.

Key statistics

The Hawks struggled at the foul line most of the night, finishing 33 of 46 and wasting chance after chance to extend their lead.

Next

Nets: Travel to Orlando to take on the Magic on Friday night.

Hawks: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA