Georges Niang gives Hawks a lift in win over the Warriors

Here are five observations.

1. Hawks forward Georges Niang shot the lights out in the second half, with his baskets from 3 giving the Hawks enough cushion to hold off the Warriors. Niang hit three triples in the fourth quarter, the first of which came from the left wing after the Hawks pushed the pace.

Then with 9:00 to play he buried one from the left corner before turning to the crowd. He hit a contested jumper from the same corner with the Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski heavily contesting the shot.

It snaps a down streak where he shot 9-of-27 from 3. But he ended the night 6-of-9 from deep.

“Those guys did a great job of finding me, and I was doing my job tonight, and I was making shots,” Niang said. “So obviously, once you see a couple go in, you start to become more aggressive and hunt your shot. And that’s what I was doing out there and the ball was going in.”

2. Hawks guard Trae Young fed Niang and his teammates on Saturday night. He dished 10 assists to continue his climb in the history books, passing NBA legend John Stockton. Young has put up the 8th-most games in league history with 20-plus points and 10-plus assists after scoring 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

He did that all while playing through the chirping from Podziemski and veteran center Draymond Green.

“I mean, you got Draymond Green, you got Trae Young on the court,” Young said. “I mean, yeah, it’s competitive basketball, bro. It’s the second half of the season about to be the playoffs, so we’re playing physical and playing together. I mean, I’m gonna jump in, stick up for myself or my teammate.”

3. Guard Dyson Daniels inched even closer to 200 steals for the season after finishing the night with three steals. The Hawks guard has averaged three steals per game and has had at least one in 41 straight games, to tie Mookie Blaylock. It’s for the third-longest such streak in franchise history

“I’m proud of that kid. I think he’s DPOY (defensive player of the year) for the season,” Onyeka Okongwu said. “I’m excited to watch him going forward.”

4. Hawks rookie Zaccharie Risacher received his rookie of the month award for February ahead of the game. The Hawks presented him with the award at halfcourt, with general manager Landry Fields giving him well wishes.

Risacher finished the game in double-digit points and has ended a night in single figures just five times in the last 22 games.

It’s why Niang has been one of Risacher’s loudest advocates for the rookie of the year honor over the last couple of days.

“I mean, the guy shows up every day, doesn’t complain whether he plays 20 minutes, 29 minutes, he’s always defending,” Niang said. “He’s fearless, and he’s 19 years old. And if that guy isn’t rookie of the year, then I don’t know what, NBA, what are we doing?”

5. The Hawks have won two consecutive games and it has given them a 1-1/2 game cushion over the Magic. The Hawks sit just 4-1/2 games behind the Pistons, who currently hold the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks currently have the fifth-easiest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. The Pistons have the fifth-hardest remaining schedule.

Stat to know

246 - Trae Young recorded his 246th career double-double, tying Dan Roundfield for fifth-most in franchise history.

Quotable

“You look at our team, there’s a lot of, you know, first, second, third, fourth, fifth-year guys. And you know, if you can consistently build habits of no matter what happens, win, loss, draw, happy, mad, sad.” -- Georges Niang on building good habits like not giving up big leads.

Up next

The Hawks are back in action again on Sunday when they host the 76ers at State Farm Arena.

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Atlanta Hawks guard Caris LeVert goes to the basket during the second half against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, March 22, 2024 in Atlanta. The Hawks won 124-115. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Jason Allen)

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