Inside the box score and more of the Hawks’ 114-99 season-opening win over the Wizards Thursday at Philips Arena.
Key players
* Paul Millsap had a game-high 28 points, on 11 of 20 shooting, with seven rebounds, six assists and a block.
* Dwight Howard had a double-double of 11 points and 19 rebounds, more boards in a game from a Hawks player since Al Horford had 22 in 2013.
* Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 21 points off the bench, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
Key stat
The Hawks shot 46.2 percent (12 of 26) from 3-point range. Millsap and Hardaway each finished with three. The Wizards shot 30 percent (6 of 20) from the distance.
Noteworthy
* Mike Muscala and Howard each had three blocks for the Hawks.
* The Hawks held a 52-40 rebound edge.
* Hawks rookies Malcolm Delaney, Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry made their NBA debuts. Delaney had four points and five assists in 20 minutes. Bembry had two points in two minutes and Prince had a rebound and a steal in four minutes.
* The Hawks finished with 28 assists on 44 field goals but got just seven assists from point guards. Starter Dennis Schroder had more turnovers (four) than assists (two).
* The Wizards’ John Wall finished with 12 points and 10 assists. The point guard was 3 of 15 from the field, including misses in his first eight attempts.
Quotable
“It takes a lot of pressure off me. I think we saw tonight that I didn’t have to go down there and bang as much. When a guy like Dwight is down there, he is getting the rebounds and taking a big load off me. Throughout the course of the season, I’ll be a little fresher and be able to do more on the offensive end.” – Millsap on the presence of Howard
Next
The Hawks play at the 76ers on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
About the Author
