Hawks hang on to down Pacers in exhibition action

The Hawks looked connected in a 119-117 win in exhibition action against the Pacers on Saturday.

Though they continued their trend of sitting their rotation, the Hawks’ communication helped their ball movement and ball security.

On Saturday, the Hawks sat Nickeil Alexander-Walker, which opened some starters’ minutes for Lu Dort. It was Dort’s first exhibition game after missing the first two.

They led 78-74 when the Pacers pulled their starters with 6:30 left to play in the third quarter.

Here are some takeaways.

-- In his first outing with the Hawks, Dort’s physical defense looked as advertised. He picked up opponents full court. He regularly got into opponents’ bodies to disrupt their dribbles, even if he got a little overzealous at times. He picked up four fouls by the end of his 24 minutes.

But his defense remained impactful, helping the Hawks force multiple Pacers actions or full resets with deflections out of bounds.

Dort finished with seven points, getting a putback then knocking down a 3. He also had 6 rebounds.

-- Jalen Johnson found his groove after getting the night off in San Antonio on Thursday. Johnson commanded the floor, whether he posted up defenders or drove to the basket.

He also made instinctive rotations that helped the Hawks make timely stops and cut off the Pacers’ runs.

Johnson scored 20 points and grabbed 7 rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting.

-- Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu had a strong night, especially against Pacers center Ivica Zubac. Okongwu has had many battles with Zubac, who came to Indiana at last season’s trade deadline, over the years when he was on the Clippers.