Kobe Johnson creates noise as Summer League Hawks down Celtics

After one quarter of finding the pace of the game, the Hawks put up a dominant outing in their third game at Las Vegas Summer League. The Hawks downed the Celtics 102-90, putting up their most well-rounded offensive outing.

Guard Kobe Johnson settled the Hawks down from the moment he checked into the game in the first four minutes of the first quarter. But his dominance in the second quarter gave the Hawks complete separation from the Celtics.

The Hawks leaned heavily on Johnson, as well as Henri Veesaar and Devin Higgs on Monday evening. The team opted to sit first-round picks Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor. The Hawks also sat Keshon Gilbert, RayJ Dennis and Jacob Toppin.

Quick stats: Kobe Johnson had 30 points, seven rebounds and four assists, making 11-of-18 shots from the field. Henri Veesaar had 20 points and shot 4-of-6 from deep.

Johnson hustled for rebounds. He raced around the court to track down loose balls. He got to the right spots to deflect balls out of opponents’ hands to force steals.

Johnson’s fingerprints could be found on almost every big play that the Hawks had.

He found his teammates with the right passes after directing them to ideal spots. With 1:23 left in the first quarter, Johnson found Eli Ndiaye cutting down the lane to the basket with a bounce pass.

But Johnson also commanded attention with his efficient scoring.

With 3:55 to play in the first quarter, Johnson deflected a layup attempt from the Celtics and took off with the loose ball. He hit Higgs with a lob on the other end to tie the game at 15.

Then he created space with a screen from Zeke Mayo and drained a 3 on the wing to put the Hawks up 18-17. The Hawks never trailed again.

He picked the right spots for his 3-pointers, shooting 4-of-9 from the deep. Most of his misses from the perimeter came toward the end of his run.

Johnson’s performance gives the Hawks a lot to chew on as they think about how to fill out their two-way contracts.

With Flemings and Ejiofor out for the evening, there were minutes for Veesaar with the starters. He took full advantage, getting active in the scoring early.

He had an early driving layup where he had enough hang time to get his jumper off. Then he hit a 3 from the left wing.

Veesaar continued to look comfortable with the consistent playing time over the last two weeks. He scored 13 of his points in the first half.

The Hawks may sit Flemings and Ejiofor for remainder of Summer League. The Hawks don’t play another game until Thursday when they face the Kobe Johnson creates noise as Summer League Hawks down Celtics for the second time in Summer League.

The Hawks saw a Cameron Boozer-less Grizzlies in Salt Lake City. So, the Hawks could face the Grizzlies again without Boozer, as well as Cedric Coward in the later days of Summer League.

It’s now three Summer League games and three Summer League wins for the Hawks. They already had the second-best record entering Monday’s game, trailing the Warriors by just one point for first place in the standings.

Monday’s win puts the Hawks in a good spot for a shot at the Summer League championship.

Quotable:

-- “He made some threes off the catch and on the move. A big part was our defense too … he was able to get in the paint and he made great decisions. Credit to him. He’s had a great summer league and he’s stayed ready and worked. It’s great to see that pay off for him and to have a game like this." - Hawks Summer League coach Sanjay Lumpkin on Kobe Johnson