Nickeil Alexander-Walker poured in 26 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 120-105 victory over the Washington Wizards and former Hawks star Trae Young on Wednesday night at Capital One Arena, ESPN reported.
The win marked Atlanta’s first meeting with Young since trading the four-time All-Star to Washington in January, and Alexander-Walker made sure the reunion was one-sided. He followed a career-high-tying nine 3-pointers in Monday’s 104-102 win at Indiana, giving him 15 over two games. Onyeka Okongwu added 14 points and 16 rebounds, while CJ McCollum and Aaron Wiggins scored 15 apiece to carry the Hawks without All-Star forward Jalen Johnson, who missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle.
A 13-0 Run Turns the Game in the Second Quarter
Washington hung around early. Asa Newell hit a tip-in at the first-quarter buzzer and Zuby Ejiofor converted two transition baskets, prompting a quick timeout from Wizards coach Brian Keefe. But Atlanta’s surge never stopped: Kingston Flemings hit a runner, Wiggins sank a 3-pointer, and Dyson Daniels finished the flurry with a driving layup to make it 48-32 with 9:06 left in the half. The Hawks built a game-high 16-point lead during that second-quarter stretch on the strength of a 13-0 run.
The Wizards clawed back to within seven at halftime and cut the deficit to four twice in the third quarter, the second time on Young’s step-back 3 that made it 83-79. Young finished with 18 points. But the game slipped away on the very next possession, when Corey Kispert — one of the players Atlanta received in the Young trade — converted a four-point play. From there the lead never dipped below six again.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Kyshawn George added 25 for the Wizards, who trailed Atlanta throughout the final three quarters and never got closer than six points after the third quarter.
The two teams close their home-and-home set Friday in Atlanta in an NBA Cup tilt.
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