Jalen Johnson Ruled Out Again for Hawks vs. Wizards

The Atlanta Hawks ruled out Jalen Johnson for Friday night’s NBA Cup game against the Washington Wizards at State Farm Arena. It is his third straight absence with a left ankle sprain, and Atlanta listed him as questionable before all three games.

Kingston Flemings, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Luguentz Dort, and Onyeka Okongwu started. Atlanta used the same five in Wednesday’s 120-105 win in Washington, the first of two meetings between the teams this week.

The Hawks entered 5-4 and had won both games Johnson missed. Washington came in 4-4. Tip-off was set for 7 p.m. ET.

Johnson sprained the ankle Oct. 31 at Smoothie King Center. He played the full third quarter of a 121-99 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans and did not appear in the fourth.

He finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 27:56. Jock Landale left the same game after 1:22 off the bench with a hip injury.

Hawks coach Quin Snyder said after the loss that the schedule had not allowed Atlanta to get in the gym and practice. New Orleans was the Hawks’ third game in four nights.

“Hopefully both those guys are going to be okay and not be out for too long, we’ll know more about that tomorrow and beyond,” Snyder said.

Through seven games, Johnson is averaging 18.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.9 assists. He is shooting 42.1% from the field.

Last season, on Feb. 24, Johnson left a 119-98 home win over the Wizards in the first quarter with a left hip flexor injury. He sat out the rematch two nights later.

Dort moved into the starting lineup Monday at Indiana. CJ McCollum started that night because Flemings was serving a one-game suspension for elbowing Bryce McGowens in the face late in the New Orleans loss, a sequence that ended in the rookie’s ejection with 3:04 left.

Atlanta won 108-104. Dort scored 14 points and went 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Alexander-Walker scored 34 and went 9-of-15 from deep, matching his career high for made 3-pointers.

Flemings returned Wednesday and made his first career start, with McCollum moving to the bench. In the win over Washington, he scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added 4 assists. McCollum scored 15 off the bench.

Atlanta made 19 of its 49 3-point attempts Wednesday. Flemings went 2-of-2 in his first game with the starters.

“Just good shooting, really,” Flemings said. “We’re getting good shots. We’re getting good shots. When we get downhill, we got a lot of great shooting from the team. So, that’s my job when I get in the game, and we got good shooting tonight.”

The Hawks drafted Flemings eighth overall on June 23, using a pick acquired from New Orleans. The 19-year-old averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists as a freshman at Houston. He shot 38.7% from 3-point range and was a second-team All-American.

Every appearance he made before Wednesday came off the bench. On Oct. 28, he scored 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting in a 129-117 home loss to the Miami Heat.

One night later, in a 114-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Flemings played 16:21 off the bench. McCollum started and played 31:24.

“One of the things, the first time you go through the league, you end up playing James Harden, Donovan Mitchell,” Snyder explained. “I just like the way he competes. I think that’s something. He’s got people around him, his teammates that support him and have confidence in him, CJ in particular. You see those two talking. I think Kingston’s really, he’s an intelligent player. He’s an intelligent person, and he’s a really smart player too. So his learning curve, we’re just going to keep having these experiences.”

“It’s good to see him,” Snyder continued. “He’s so fast. Sometimes him learning to slow down a little bit because he’s got the ability to make all kinds of passes. And those reads, I think as he plays more, that’s the gradual kind of organic process that occurs. But he did a good job for us.”

Daniels finished Wednesday with 8 points, 16 rebounds, and 8 assists in 34 minutes. Seven of his rebounds came on the offensive glass, and Atlanta outrebounded Washington 57-41.

“[Daniels] finds so many ways to impact the game,” Snyder said. “And we’ve seen that with his defense. We’ve seen it with rebounding tonight. I thought the boards were something that was crucial for our team. And to get that [many], you got to work hard. And I think that’s kind of the thin red line that runs through everything with that is competitiveness.”

Okongwu also grabbed 16 rebounds, 13 of them defensive. He scored 14 points for the 70th double-double of his career.

Asa Newell was ruled out with a left great toe hyperextension. He was hurt in the first half Wednesday and did not return.

Landale (left hip strain), Mouhamed Gueye (left foot fracture), Henri Veesaar (right ACL tear), and Keshon Gilbert (left knee inflammation) were also out.

Trae Young played his first game in Atlanta as a visitor. The Hawks traded the four-time All-Star to Washington in January, and Corey Kispert came to Atlanta in the deal. Young had 18 points and 6 assists Wednesday, and Anthony Davis led the Wizards with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawks host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the second night of a back-to-back at State Farm Arena.