AJ Griffin made a quick impression in his NBA debut.
The Hawks rookie scored five consecutive points when he entered in the fourth quarter of a 126-109 loss to the Hornets on Sunday at State Farm Arena.
Griffin entered at the start of the fourth quarter. He started his career with a steal and a 3-pointer. He got his second steal ripping up a handoff from PJ Washington to Kelly Oubre Jr. then getting a pass from John Collins to set up a fast-break layup,
He impressed Trae Young despite the final score. “It’s exciting, it’s good,” Young said. “He’s gonna have a long NBA career. He’s a sponge to learning new things. He wants to do great every time he’s on the court. It’s a start, and he can play, too, at the same time. I was excited for him.”
The swing in momentum led Hornets coach Steve Clifford to call a timeout to thwart a comeback.
Griffin, a first-round pick from Duke (No. 16 overall), did not play in the Hawks’ first two games of the regular season. A blowout got him into his first game.
Griffin was subbed out with 7:13 left in the fourth quarter and returned with 1:40 remaining.
“Him being ready to go,” Dejounte Murray said of Griffin. “I don’t think you see that from young guys, not being used to playing right away then being thrown in the fire. So got to give respect to him for being ready to come in and compete at a high level.”
When he returned to finish the game, Griffin made another 3-pointer. He finished with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Hawks coach Nate McMillan said he brought Griffin in searching for a spark.
“I was looking for some activity,” McMillan said. “We needed shooting; we couldn’t make any shots, and I wanted to give him a try. We put him out there, and he was able to knock down a shot. Got him out on the floor to bring some type of energy to that lineup.”
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