Hawks Beat Mavericks 135-111 to Finish Preseason 4-1

DALLAS — Nickeil Alexander-Walker's 3-pointer with 2:47 left in the first quarter Friday night put the Atlanta Hawks ahead 31-28. They stayed ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for the rest of the night and won 135-111 at American Airlines Center, where 19,178 were in the building.eil

Atlanta opened the preseason with a 132-123 loss to Memphis on Oct. 5. The Hawks bounced back with wins at San Antonio and Indiana, at home against Oklahoma City, and in Dallas, finishing 4-1. The Mavericks wrapped up their exhibition schedule at 1-3.

The biggest lead Dallas had all night was one point. Naji Marshall made two free throws with 3:32 to go in the first quarter for a 26-25 Mavericks lead, and Morez Johnson Jr.'s floater tied it at 28 about half a minute later.

There were five ties and four lead changes in the game, and none of them happened after the first quarter.

Alexander-Walker, the league's reigning Most Improved Player, scored 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Six of those seven field goals were 3-pointers, two of them on passes from Onyeka Okongwu and Luguentz Dort. He was plus-21 in 27 minutes.

Jalen Johnson went to the free-throw line 11 times before halftime, but not at all after the break. He made 9 free throws and had 16 points and 11 rebounds at halftime.

In 25 minutes, he finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assists, including 10 defensive rebounds.

Kyrie Irving's pull-up with 9:46 left in the second cut Atlanta's lead to 49-40. The Hawks then outscored Dallas 14-1 over 5:26, capped by Johnson’s driving dunk for a 63-41 lead.

Dallas missed 9 of 10 threes in the quarter, which Atlanta won 34-20.

At halftime, Atlanta led 73-54 after shooting 51.3% and taking 30 free throws.

Dallas opened the second half with 5 straight points. Cooper Flagg, who led the Mavericks with 26 points and 12 rebounds, hit a 3-pointer with 7:42 left in the third that made it 81-67.

Alexander-Walker scored 11 points in that quarter, and Kingston Flemings, the eighth overall pick in June, hit a 3-pointer with 25.9 seconds to go as Atlanta took a 102-78 lead into the fourth.

Irving, who scored 18 points and made 5 of his 7 3-point attempts, sat out the final period.

The Hawks' lead reached 29 with 8:04 left, when Aaron Wiggins made a 3-pointer for a 118-89 score.

With Wiggins on the floor, Atlanta outscored Dallas by 33. He had 19 points and 7 rebounds off the bench.

Jock Landale took 5 shots and made 4 of them on his way to 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Flemings had 6 assists to go with 10 points and 4 rebounds. Dort, acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder in the July 19 three-team trade, had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Dyson Daniels needed 7 shots for his 8 points and also had 2 steals and a block, while CJ McCollum hit a pair of early 3-pointers.

The Hawks finished with 36 assists on 40 field goals. From 3-point range, they went 21-of-51.

They made 34 of their 45 free throws and outscored Dallas 19-6 on the fast break.

Atlanta outrebounded Dallas 55-42, with 11 of its 17 offensive boards coming in the second half.

Still, Dallas dominated the paint, 50-38, and scored 26 second-chance points to Atlanta's 18.

The Mavericks committed 7 of their 15 turnovers in the fourth quarter. Atlanta scored 16 points off those 15 and turned it over 13 times itself.

Atlanta selected Zaccharie Risacher with the first pick in 2024, then traded him to Dallas on July 19.

In his first game against the Hawks, he scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, going 4-for-6 in the first half and perfect after halftime.

Mouhamed Gueye (left foot fracture) and Henri Veesaar (torn right ACL) were out for Atlanta. Corey Kispert and Asa Newell remained on the bench until the fourth quarter.

The Hawks beat Oklahoma City 113-110 on Monday in their previous exhibition.

Their most recent visit to American Airlines Center came on March 18, when they won 135-120 for Atlanta's 11th straight victory at the time. The Hawks finished last season 46-36 and won the Southeast Division.

Atlanta opens the regular season Wednesday against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET on Peachtree Sports Network.

The Hawks went 4-0 against Orlando last season, and their home opener is Saturday, Oct. 24, against the Houston Rockets at 8 p.m. ET.