Jalen Johnson surges in fourth to help Hawks down 76ers for sixth straight win

Jalen Johnson took over.

It didn’t matter which defender the 76ers sent his way, Johnson would finish the play and maybe catch a body in the process. Johnson’s nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in the fourth quarter lifted the Hawks to a 125-116 win over the 76ers on Saturday.

Johnson performance in the fourth pulled “MVP” chants from the FanDuel 404 Crew when he stepped to the free-throw line late.

It delivered the Hawks’ season-best sixth straight win.

Quick stats: Johnson secured his 39th double-double of the season in tonight’s game. In four games against the 76ers this season, Johnson has three double-doubles and one triple-double.

He finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 24 points and six assists. CJ McCollum had 17 points and 7 assists. Dyson Daniels added 15 points and nine rebounds.

Turning point

The Hawks trailed the 76ers for much of the first half after they struggled to take care of the ball. But the Hawks found a spark with a 7-0 run in the second quarter kicked off by a dunk from Johnson.

Then McCollum hit a 3 that forced the 76ers to call timeout with 2:52 to play in the first half. The Hawks briefly stifled the 76ers attempt to regain control forcing Maxey to turn the ball over before McCollum made a layup on the other end.

Despite the 76ers finishing the half on 3s from Maxey and Quentin Grimes, the Hawks had just enough momentum to jump on them in the second half.

Highlight play

The Hawks had some high-flying moments on Saturday evening, including a lob from McCollum to Johnson in the second quarter.

With 3:37 to play in the second quarter, Johnson slipped behind the Sixers defense. McCollum threw up the lob and Johnson climbed the ladder to finish the play.

But Johnson wasn’t the only one to get in on the highlight action. Hawks second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher had a strong defensive outing and got rewarded for it on the offensive end.

After a blind side block on Sixers forward Jabari Walker, Risacher stole the ball from Kelly Oubre and took it to the other end. Risacher finished the play with a finger roll layup.

What they said

“I think I’m always locked in. Yeah, I’m always locked in. I mean, obviously, you get in when the momentum’s high, you’re on a run and stuff like that, emotions are running much higher than they are at the beginning of the game. So maybe the emotions piece of it looks locked in more.” -- Johnson on what locking in looks like for him.

“I thought he attacked the rim. He didn’t try to avoid contact. He went through it and we saw the result of it. The other thing his catch-and-shoot 3 is continuing to be a really important part of this game, because people have to come up and guard him, and that gives him a chance to drive the ball. So he’s making the right play.” -- Hawks coach Quin Snyder on Johnson’s scoring in the second half.

“He was running his mouth all game. And he threw the ball at me and pushed me. So I just tried to fire the boys up a little bit and get us going. But yeah, like I said, I miss fighting. So miss my brothers. We’re used to getting into little push-and-shoves. It’s good fun. But, yeah, I’ll pay my fine.” -- Daniels on his dust up with Trendon Watford

Up next

The Hawks host No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks at State Farm Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Standings watch

The Eastern Conference standings saw a shakeup over the last two days.

The Hawks moved to ninth place after the Hornets fell to the Heat on Friday. The Hawks now have a one-game lead on the Hornets after they downed the Sixers on Saturday.