The Hawks made it through their first test of the 2024-25 season by defeating the Nets 120-116 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena.
They had big performances from Trae Young, who scored 30 points and had 12 assists, and Onyeka Okongwu, who had a career-high 28 points.
Here are five observations.
1. After missing several games near the end of last season with a left big toe injury, Okongwu played limited minutes during the exhibition season -- a total of just 16 minutes. But he was strong on opening night, with eight rebounds, one assist and three blocks -- all while picking up just one foul -- to cap off his career-night.
The Hawks center delivered several highlight plays including a block on a Nets’ Dorian Finney-Smith that left him flat on his back on the ground.
“I think for me, that was my main concern, just coming into this season,” Okongwu said. “It was my conditioning. I was blessed to spend my summer getting right, but I felt really good out there and I’m just happy we got the win.”
2. While Okongwu powered the Hawks from the bench, newly acquired guard Dyson Daniels powered them from the starting line up. The Hawks acquired Daniels this summer for his defense and he did not disappoint.
The 21-year-old scored 15 points, had five rebounds, as well as one block and five steals.
He got into bodies, saving plays like when he tapped an out of bounds play to De’Andre Hunter for a third chance 3 with 6:46 to play in the game.
He injected fearless energy into the Hawks rotation, diving for loose balls and pushing the team ahead in transiton. With 8:07 in the game, Daniels picked off Cam Thomas for his fifth steal of the night and looked to finish the play in transition.
But Nets center Nic Claxton clotheslined him in the air to stop the play. As Claxton walked into the crowd, Daniels popped up and had words with the center to express his displeasure with the foul. Officals hit Claxton with a Flagrant 2 penalty and ejected him from the game.
3. Daniels’ feistiness spilled over into other plays as the Nets continued to play physical defense as the Hawks pulled away in the final five minutes of the game. Just 30 seconds after Claxton’s ejection, Nets guard Cam Thomas delivered a hard foul to Hunter on a transition dunk.
The Hawks guard again voiced his displeasure about the hard foul but began to disengage because he already received a technical foul for his part in the scuffle with Claxton. So, Okongwu picked up where Daniels left off.
Thomas then swiped at Okongwu, which escalated the tension between the two teams. Officials ended up issuing double technicals on Okongwu and Thomas.
“They have to support each other,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “That’s why I was so pleased with our reaction to somebody taking a hard foul. It’s a tough position to be in, that’s how people get hurt. But I like the way that we responded, not in the moment, yeah, but we came together after that.”
4. Despite the frostiness that descended on the final quarter of Wednesday’s game, the Hawks got to see what their rookie Zaccharie Risacher looked like in a regular-season game. While Risacher’s stats did not pop off the stat sheet the team felt his impact, with his length and size on the defensive end and his ability to finish plays in transition.
The rookie got his first taste of NBA defenses looking to stop him in earnest, with the Nets committing double teams and putting their bodies into him to disrupt his dribble.
He scored seven points and had one rebound.
5. The Hawks honored the late Dikembe Mutombo before the start of Wednesday’s home opener. They held a moment of silence, that ran alongside a video tribute honoring the Hall of Famer.
The team also added a small banner to the rafters below Mutombo’s retired jersey with the years of his life 1966-2024.
Mutombo’s wife, Rose and some family attended Wednesday’s game. Next month, the Hawks will have a game fully honoring Mutombo’s memory. They will announce more details on how they will honor him during a game in November, at a later date.
Stat to Know
78 -- Trae Young tallied his 78th career game with 30+ points and 10+ assists, tied for the fifth-most such games in NBA history.
Quotable
“Got a little heated, but I was able to to keep my cool a little bit. I didn’t go too far didn’t get my Aussie background, what I would, what I would have done my brothers. So I was able to keep it cool a little bit.” Dyson Daniels on dust up with Nic Claxton.
Up Next
The Hawks return to State Farm Arena on Friday night to host LaMelo Ball and Charlotte Hornets.
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