Hawks Report Card In Their 114-11 Win vs Cavaliers: Okongwu Shines, McCollum Struggles

For the fifth straight time at State Farm Arena, the Atlanta Hawks were able to take down the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After losing three straight games following their 2-0 start, the Hawks got an important win over the Cavaliers on Thursday night to even their record at 3-3 and get some momentum before they begin a three-game road trip starting Saturday in New Orleans.

When looking back at the win last night, how did each player perform?

Starters

CJ McCollum: F
Dyson Daniels: C-
Nickeil Alexander-Walker: B
Jalen Johnson: C
Onyeka Okongwu: A

This night was all about Onyeka Okongwu and his bounce back performance.

Okongwu scored 29 points and had 12 rebounds and was the best player on the court against one of the Eastern Conferences best teams. More games like this from him are going to be needed to get the Hawks where they want to be.

Alexander-Walker had another very strong scoring night, though it was not his most efficient night shooting the ball. He finished the game with 25 points on 8-for-17 from the field and 4-for-12 from three as well as pulling in three rebounds and getting one assist.

Johnson was not as poor as he was against the Heat, but he did not have a strong performance either. He finished the night with 17 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 7-for-16 from the field and 2-for-5 from three. Johnson was more impactful tonight though and could use this as a building block game.

Daniels had his third straight game where he scored fewer than 10 points, but he did play solid defense on Donovan Mitchell and also had six rebounds and five assists.

McCollum was the worst starter on the floor by a wide margin tonight. Whether it was the 1-for-8 shooting, the poor defense, or the end of half sequence in the first half that saw him turn the ball over twice and fould James Harden on a three-point shot, all of which prevented the Hawks from stretching the lead further. McCollum was a big negative in last night's game and something that the Hawks will have to watch.

Bench

Aaron Wiggins: B+
Lu Dort: C-
Kingston Flemings: C-
Jock Landale: B-

Another game, another strong night for Aaron Wiggins. Wiggins scored 20 points off the bench, a new Hawks high for him in terms of points and he also had seven rebounds and three assists. He is shooting the ball well and playing defense and should have been in the closing lineup for Atlanta.

Dort had a forgettable game on both ends of the floor. He was a -3 on the floor in his 22 minutes and did not shoot well, though his defense was passable.

Flemings was not the star of the show as he was against Miami, but he competed on both ends of the floor and routinely made the right passes and put his teammates in good situations. He only scored two points, but this was a better than the box score look for the rookie point guard.

Landale had perhaps his best game of the season and most encouraging was his three-point shot. Landale was 2-for-4 from three and finished with six points and 10 rebounds. Atlanta needed better center play and they got it against the Cavaliers.

Up next for Atlanta is a road trip to New Orleans to face the Pelicans. Tipoff for that game will be shortly after 7:00 p.m. ET.

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