Hawks bump rookie Flemings to starting lineup, down Wizards

The Hawks’ season remains young, which means they’re not opposed to making lineup changes to find the right formula. On Wednesday, they bumped No. 8 overall pick Kingston Flemings into the starting lineup.

It helped them beat the Wizards 120-105 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

With Flemings in the starting five, the Hawks moved veteran guard CJ McCollum to the bench. It gave the Hawks a chance to continue developing Flemings’ game, while allowing them to get a big impact off the bench from McCollum.

Quick stats: Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 26 points, while Onyeka Okongwu picked up his 70th career double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Flemings, in his first career start, had 14 points.

Wizards center Anthony Davis had 26 points, while former Hawks and current Wizards guard Trae Young had 18 points and six assists.

Key Moment

The Hawks almost left the door open for the Wizards to get back in the game. During a five-minute stretch between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third, they made just 1-of-10 field goal attempts. It allowed the Wizards to cut the Hawks’ lead to four with 8:37 to play in the third.

But the Hawks got some strong minutes from their rookie guard, who found Alexander-Walker for a layup before making one of his own. He also got into the right spots at the right time, which gave the Hawks optimal spacing and let them keep feeding Alexander-Walker, their hot hand.

Highlight play

The rookies had some big moments in Wednesday’s outing against the Wizards. With 1:34 to play in the third quarter, guard Aaron Wiggins dribbled from the top of the key to the elbow. Then Wiggins hit rookie forward Zuby Ejiofor with a bounce pass.

Ejiofor went up with the ball as two Wizards defenders met him at the rim to contest the dunk. The rookie finished the play anyway.

What they said

“It felt great being on the court. I love playing ball. So, anytime I can be on the court (and) affect the game. I’m gonna do that.” -- Flemings on his first career start.