Hawks snap their losing skid with blowout win over Timberwolves

The Hawks finally snapped their losing streak. Following a 126-102 defeat of the Timberwolves on Wednesday, the Hawks head into the new year back in the win column.

Quick stats: Jalen Johnson had 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Onyeka Okongwu had 17 points and eight rebounds, while Kristaps Porzingis had 16 points off the bench in his first game since Dec. 5.

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards had 30 points and five rebounds.

Key moment

In the final three minutes of the first quarter, the Hawks defense had fallen stagnant. The Timberwolves were making a push, and the Hawks just couldn’t get a shot to fall.

Then the Hawks subbed in rookie Asa Newell, who injected energy into the rotation. Newell found Porzingis for a 3 that snapped the Hawks’ scoring drought that put the Hawks up 27-22. Then Newell forced a steal of Timberwolves’ Jaylen Clark. He then got an offensive board and scored a putback without bringing the ball down to reset.

Highlight play

Nothing like an outlet pass to get energy into the arena, especially when it’s capped off with a dunk.

With 6:33 to play in the third quarter, Johnson grabbed a rebound off a missed Edwards layup. Forward Zaccharie Risacher had already taken off, and Johnson found him with a throw that rivaled NFL MVP quarterbacks down the court.

Risacher collected the pass over his shoulder and went up for the dunk.

Side note

The Hawks had a little bit of fun during a timeout with a little fan who had a big New Year’s resolution. In the first half of Wednesday’s game, the Hawks had an in-arena activation that featured some young fans telling in-arena host CM the DJ what they would like in the new year.

One fan, Nasir Stewart, said that they wanted to beat Hawks mascot Harry the Hawk in a dance battle.

So, the two squared off with Harry ending his turn with the Milly Rock. The young fan hit the starting move before getting onto his head for the head spin.

After hitting about eight spins, Stewart finished off his stint with a backflip.

What they said

“I felt like it was just a complete game from everybody. Just the durability from all of us to do it for 48 minutes. I think that was huge for us. Like I said, it’s a step in the right direction for one game. This is something we can continue to build off. Just got to focus on New York now.” -- Johnson on the Hawks getting affirmation from Wednesday’s win.

“I know for me, just kind of thinking back these last 30 or so games for myself, I’ve had some good moments, good games, but nowhere near what I can be and what I expect myself. And they’ve been on me a lot to, I mean, my teammates and coaches just to be aggressive and shoot the ball when I can.” -- Luke Kennard, who scored 15 points, had six rebounds and five assists, said of his night.