Jonathan Kuminga’s explosive debut delivers blowout win for Hawks

Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga may have had something to say. In his Hawks debut, the 23-year-old helped to deliver the team a blowout 119-98 win over the Wizards.

In his first game since Jan. 22, Kuminga let it all out on the floor from the minute he checked in.

The night also marked the return of former franchise star Trae Young for the first time since the team traded him to Washington last month.

Quick stats: Kuminga led the team in scoring, finishing with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 16 points and five assists. Onyeka Okongwu had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, as well as seven assists.

Key moment

The Hawks did not have forward Jalen Johnson for the majority of Tuesday’s matchup. The team ruled out Johnson in the first half of the game with a left hip flexor injury.

Johnson left the game midway through the first quarter just as Kuminga was set to come in and make his debut in a Hawks uniform.

The moment Johnson’s injury occurred was unclear. But per a video from Hawks.com writer, Kevin Chouinard, the injury may have happened after Johnson grabbed a rebound and then reached for his hip.

Highlight play

Kuminga wasted no time making an impression on Hawks fans attending Tuesday’s game. The Hawks had plenty of excitement for the athleticism he would bring to the team’s rotation and he did not disappoint.

Within 18 seconds of checking into the game, Kuminga found Gabe Vincent for a 3. He then scored a layup, followed by a dunk that forced a Wizards timeout. By the end of his first stint, he had seven points, two rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Kuminga really thrived in the Hawks’ transition game, running the floor after they forced turnovers. With 4:11 to play in the third, Dyson Daniels stripped Will Riley and headed downhill.

A Wizards defender cut off Daniels’ layup attempt but he turned midair and found a trailing Kuminga for a dunk that put the Hawks up 32.

What they said

“The things we talked about as a team, clearly it was a focal point for (us). Playing with the pass, as you heard me say it, since October, and (Kuminga) really demonstrated that right away, to the point where I told him, ‘It’s okay to shoot.’ But he let himself get into the game and got connected with his teammates, and just let the game come to him, which I think that shows a lot of maturity on his part, and shows a lot of kind of how he feels about the group.” -- Hawks coach Quin Snyder on Kuminga’s first game.

“Just going to have to start coming more from my repetition. Just continue to rep it up. Continue to rep it up. Truthfully, I feel like I haven’t really had a good game in a while, but that’s just me being myself and being overly critical. I think it comes and it goes, and this is the part of the season where it’s on me to figure it out. The process of it has been everything satisfying. It’s been annoying, frustrating, exciting, and I’m just embracing all of it.” -- Alexander-Walker on the ups and downs of the season.

“I think is very simple. It’s basketball at the end of the day, I try to be a student of the game, as much as I can to kind of be learning from other players here, from JJ (Jalen Johnson) and Nickeil, just asking them questions about pretty much everything, just trying to pick their brain.” -- Kuminga on getting adjusted to the Hawks.