Jalen Johnson hits career milestone as Hawks down Suns
The Hawks stumbled a little in the third quarter, but they recovered to put the Suns away 110-103 on Friday night at State Farm Arena.
After losing four of their last six games, the Hawks have won both of their last two. But they almost gave it away after a shaky third quarter where they struggled to take care of the ball. The Hawks had nine of their 20 turnovers in the third quarter despite beginning the quarter on a 6-0 run.
But the Hawks buckled down on their defense, forcing the Suns into rushed shots. More importantly, the team shut down their defensive possessions, outrebounding the Suns 13-10 in the final quarter.
“I think closing out with rebounds,” Hawks forward Jalen Johnson said. I think that’s, that’s key for us. I think the first time we played them, I forgot how many offensive rebounds they had in the first half, but I think it was like 14 or something like that. So yeah, we limit those second-chance opportunities tonight, and you’re going to win a lot of games when you give up a 12-point fourth quarter.”
Quick stats: Johnson had had a near triple-double with 23 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists. Onyeka Okongwu had 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. CJ McCollum had 21 points off the bench.
Suns guard Devin Booker had 31 points before exiting the game with an ankle injury at the end of the third quarter.
Key moment
Johnson has found his footing again. He put a stamp on finding that juice, making the 3000th point of his career. Halfway through the first quarter, the Hawks got out in transition after a steal. Nickeil Alexander-Walker then found Johnson with a quick shovel behind the back of a Suns defender. Johnson launched skyward, then slammed the ball down.
Highlight play
Alexander-Walker channeled his inner contortionist in the second quarter. With 6:21 to play in the first half, Alexander-Walker poked the ball away from Booker, disrupting his dribble. Hawks center Christian Koloko then tapped the loose ball to Corey Kispert, who pushed it ahead back to Alexander-Walker.
The Hawks guard put his head down and drove to the basket, blowing past Dillon Brooks. Alexander-Walker had just enough space, and he turned and let the shot go as he fell out of bounds.
What they said
“I think, really, just not really knowing what we want to get into on the offensive end. We had a few possessions down the court where we were just unorganized, and sometimes when we’re unorganized, it makes us more sloppy on that end. So I think when we’re going down, knowing what we want on that end, and knowing what mismatch we want to attack, or whatever it looks like. But I think when everybody’s on the same page, that kind of takes back from the turnovers.” -- Johnson on their turnovers in the third quarter.
“I mean, CJ made some big plays for us, and he’s got the ability when we weren’t getting pressure, we needed to attack to create. I would add that we want to be selective. He is selective about our shot profile.” -- Hawks coach Quin Snyder on McCollum’s play Friday.
“To come out tonight and be able to grind out a win, in front of our home crowd, is really important. You know, I think people can feel the way our team competes on the defensive end late, and that’s what won the game.” -- Snyder on winning at home.
Up next
The Hawks are scheduled to host the Pacers on Monday. But with a historic winter storm projected to hit portions of Georgia, the National Weather Service has issued ice storm warnings beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, in effect until 10 a.m. on Monday. So, Monday’s game, scheduled for 7 p.m., could be affected by road conditions.
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