Hawks’ Risacher, Porzingis shine in exhibition finale against Rockets
The Hawks finished the exhibition season with some homework before the regular season opens next Wednesday.
Here are some observations.
Quick Stats: Zaccharie Risacher finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis had a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Trae Young ended the night with 12 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.
Key moment
The Hawks brought Porzingis in for his spacing. On Thursday, Porzingis proved far more active at the rim, getting up for dunks.
Thursday’s exhibition game allowed the Hawks to experiment with more lineup combinations. They wanted to look at ways to maximize Porzingis with Young in the pick-and-roll.
But Porzingis can finish quick plays even when his number isn’t called.
Late in the second quarter, Young nutmegged Josh Okogie to find Risacher. When the Rockets defense closed off the rim, Risacher wrapped a pass around them to find Porzingis for a dunk.
Highlight play
Risacher, the Hawks second-year forward, went into attack mode in the team’s exhibition finale. Risacher had several plays where he ran the floor with a full head of steam to the basket.
But the 20-year-old took advantage of mismatches on the perimeter. After running up to the top of the key, poised to hit a shot from 3, Risacher hit a between the legs dribble to shake Rockets’ Aaron Holiday. Risacher then made the step-back 3.
What they said
“This is not what we want to be. But I think this is not a bad game to have right before the season starts in a way, just for a little bit healthy humbling. And yeah, we want to show up at our best starting 22nd.” — Porzingis on what Thursday’s exhibition showed they needed to work on.
Up next
The Hawks don’t return to action until Wednesday for their regular-season opener. They host the Raptors at State Farm Arena.
About the Author
