Good, really good and not-so-good: Hawks making noise with four straight wins

The Hawks have pulled off some big wins over the last week. In the latest, the Hawks battled through the fatigue of back-to-back games and the Salt Lake City altitude to earn the team’s fourth consecutive win.

Behind career nights from Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu, as well as the continued hot shooting from Vit Krejci, the Hawks downed the Jazz 132-122.

Here is the good, the really good and the not-so-great from the Hawks’ win on Thursday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

The good

The Hawks almost tied their franchise record (25) for 3-pointers made in a game, ending the night one shy. Though the Hawks still have some spacing cues to clean up, they put up one of their best nights beyond the arc.

They opened the night making 75% of their first 12 3-point attempts. They ended up hitting 15 3s in the first half, tying the most triples in a half in team history.

Krejci had a stretch in the second quarter where he went 5-for-5 from long range.

“I think just playing fast, in transition, obviously it’s way easier to find an open shot,” Krejci said. “So, just the way we’ve been playing, like playing really fast. Our defense fueled our offense. So as long as we play good defense and we rebound, we can run, and from that, those are the easiest shots and the shots that I feel most comfortable in.”

Onyeka Okongwu solidified the Hawks’ win with his career night on the perimeter. The Hawks’ big man knocked down a career-best eight 3s on 14 attempts.

The really good

The Hawks continue to figure out ways to play in the absence of guard Trae Young. Through their “next man up” mentality, several players have had breakout nights.

The latest was Johnson, who has provided the Hawks a steadying presence and has continued to figure out how to run the team’s offense.

Johnson has averaged 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game through 11 outings. He’s averaging 7.4 assists per game since Young’s absence, including his triple-double outing of 31 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists and seven steals against the Jazz.

“I think tonight, in addition to he’s taking what the defense gives him,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “And there’s been times for any young player, it’s like one of the hardest things to do is when you’re having a good night scoring and you’re making shots, and all of a sudden they (the defense) start collapsing on you, and having the poise to find the open man.”