Hawks down Mavericks to grab NBA’s longest active winning streak

The Hawks may have lost control of their matchup against the Mavericks in the second half of Tuesday’s outing, but they found the right defensive pressure to hold on to down the Mavericks 124-112.

Tuesday’s win was the Hawks’ seventh straight victory. It becomes the NBA’s longest active winning streak, and it’s the Hawks’ longest winning streak since the 2021-22 season.

Quick stats: Jalen Johnson finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 29 points. Onyeka Okongwu had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Dyson Daniels had 14 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. CJ McCollum rounded out the starting five’s double-digit scoring with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Key moment

The Mavericks put up a strong fight, with Klay Thompson hitting a huge contested 3 with 9:34 to play in the game. Then Khris Middleton tied the game at 97 with a midrange jumper 32 seconds later.

But the Hawks reset, with Johnson firing up the Hawks’ offense hitting a layup off a pass from Daniels. Then Johnson found Okongwu for a dunk, before hitting a 3-pointer that put the Hawks up 105-99.

It did just enough to stifle the Mavericks’ push as the Hawks hit some key shots.

Highlight play

Tuesday night saw two former No. 1 overall picks take the floor as the Hawks hosted Mavericks wing Cooper Flagg for the first time this season.

Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher checked into the game with 6:59 to play in the first quarter after the team shifted him to the bench on Feb. 22, and he didn’t take long trying to get some offense going.

With 6:46 left in the first, Risacher drove into the paint on Flagg before letting off a finger roll layup. Risacher put just enough height on his attempt to get over Flagg’s contest.

What they said

“I think it was good. I think we did a better job once Klay got going. Started running their shooters off the line and making it more difficult, trying to turn them into drivers. We did a good job eventually cutting his water off or trying our best to.” — Johnson on their adjustment after the Mavericks tied the game at 97.

“It was just about making multiple efforts. It’s the NBA. You can’t take away everything. Guys are too good, no matter who they put out there. And I think it was just about understanding that it wasn’t going to be a clean, easy game. If we’re going to make them work, we have to work ourselves.” — Alexander-Walker on how the Hawks can better execute their defense on 3-point shooters.

“Klay was getting hot, so we had to take him out of the game, make other people try to beat us once we started getting stops, getting the game back in our terms, where we get out and run. I thought we executed really well down the stretch.” — Daniels on the Hawks stopping the bleeding in the fourth quarter.

Up next

The Hawks host the Nets on Thursday night.

Standings watch

Following the Hawks’ win on Tuesday, they sit just one game behind the 76ers for seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. They also have a two-game lead on the Hornets, who entered Tuesday having lost two consecutive games.

The Heat leapfrogged into the sixth seed after their win over the Wizards. They’ve won six straight games and have a half-game lead on the Magic for that spot.

Things can continue to shift in the Eastern Conference with the Heat moving to fifth — especially as the Raptors, who have lost two straight games, continue to slide.