Quin Snyder Praises Kobe Johnson’s ‘Winning Plays’ In Hawks Win Over Thunder

Kobe Johnson made all four of his shots Monday night in a 113-110 exhibition win for the Atlanta Hawks over the Oklahoma City Thunder. His 10 points included a driving layup at the 1.8-second mark that put Atlanta up 113-107.

Jackson Caudell of SI's All Hawks credited Johnson with late rebounds and a steal that helped close the game. He also grabbed 3 rebounds and had 2 steals. Thunder rookie center Aday Mara finished with 6 assists for Oklahoma City.

Hawks coach Quin Snyder took questions after the game and pointed to Johnson’s defensive work and activity on the offensive glass.

"Kobe, defensively, as you said, on the offensive boards, those are big plays," Snyder said. "Those are winning plays. And I think you see RayJ and Asa really have a feel for one another. Also good to see."

"They put us in some situations defensively. Mara as a passer, it was a little bit different," Snyder continued. "They really executed well, which was good for us. We had breakdowns at times, particularly when we had situations where we wanted to switch. But at the end, as you said, I thought we were really focused and were able to make some of those plays."

RayJ Dennis and Asa Newell spent much of last season together with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta's G League affiliate. Dennis is on a two-way contract.

Late Monday, Bennett Stirtz's 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City a 100-99 lead with just over three minutes to play. Dennis answered with a driving layup. Newell scored on a turnaround jumper and a driving dunk in the final two minutes, according to TalkBasket, and Dennis hit a 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds remaining for a 111-107 lead.

Off the bench, Dennis totaled 13 points and 7 assists. His floater with 10:26 left in the fourth quarter put Atlanta up 83-81, and he assisted on Cameron Corhen's jumper at 7:21 that made it 91-87. In the first quarter, two of his passes set up Zuby Ejiofor for a layup and an alley-oop.

Newell started and had 10 rebounds, though he went 3-of-14 from the field.

Earlier in the fourth, Newell had found Johnson for a driving layup that put Atlanta ahead 89-87 with 7:40 to play.

Newell was the 23rd overall pick in 2025, landed in a draft-night deal with the Pelicans, and is in his second training camp with Atlanta. He led the Hawks with 16 points at San Antonio last Thursday. On Monday, his only 3-pointer came off a Kingston Flemings pass early in the third quarter.

Johnson is the younger brother of Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, who rested Monday. Kobe Johnson went undrafted out of UCLA in 2025, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Atlanta that September, and was waived before the season. He played 2025-26 in College Park.

In July, he scored 30 points against Boston in Summer League play, shooting 11-of-18 with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Atlanta used 12 players Monday, according to Atlanta News First, with nine others unavailable. The Thunder rested their starters and had nine players.

The Hawks are 3-1 in the preseason and finish it Friday at 8 p.m. ET against the Dallas Mavericks.