Jalen Johnson and Alexander-Walker ignite offense as the Atlanta Hawks dominate the Warriors, securing a third straight win in the post-Trae Young era.
The Atlanta Hawks have surprisingly been better on the road than at home, which helps them in the team's current situation of playing four straight games on the road in January. On Sunday, the Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors 124-111 to improve to 20-21, as Atlanta continues to play solid basketball in the post-Trae Young era.
Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker carried the freight for the Hawks' offense, as they have done for the last several weeks. Alexander-Walker is really benefiting from taking 7-10 more shots per game, and it's led to a career-high scoring average of nearly 21 points.
On Sunday, Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Atlanta Hawks in scoring with 24 points, and Jalen Johnson added 23 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
The Hawks took a slight lead into halftime, and then outscored Golden State 65-58 from there. Atlanta outscored the Warriors by 10 points in the third quarter, which was ultimately the difference, and led to a comfortable 13-point victory.
This is another impressive showing for the Hawks, who have now won three straight games since the Trae Young trade, and now look like a potential Eastern Conference contender.
Atlanta is 13-10 on the road this season, and has already won two crucial games on their four-game Western Conference road trip. The Hawks conclude their trip out west with the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers this week.
Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler both had 30 points in this Sunday night showdown, but the scoring efforts from the Warriors' stars were not enough.
Luke Kennard was a real bright spot for the Hawks' offense tonight, adding 22 points in this one in 20 minutes on the court. Center Onyeka Okongwu also had a big scoring output with 18 points on 6/14 shooting.
Atlanta welcomed C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert to the lineup on Saturday night. McCollum added 12 points on five made field goals, and Kispert scored just two points in 14 minutes.
With a 20-21 record and a three-game winning streak, the Atlanta Hawks are no slouch in the Eastern Conference, and arguably have a better roster than the Magic, Bulls, and Miami Heat.
It will be interesting to see how the Hawks play through the All-Star break and NBA trade deadline in order to fully judge if this is a true playoff team.