Instant Takeaways From the Atlanta Hawks Win vs the Brooklyn Nets

Tonight, the Atlanta Hawks came into this game looking for their eighth straight win and they were facing a struggling Brooklyn Nets team. However, things wouldn't be as easy for Atlanta as they would look like they'd be on the verge of pulling away, but every time the Nets would respond, making for an interesting back-and-forth contest.

Let's breakdown the key takeaways from tonight's win.

1. Zaccharie Risacher

16 PTS & 8 REB in the first half for Zacch ♨️♨️ pic.twitter.com/Q6XOHsH2Hw
— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 13, 2026

The Hawks player who has been showing his capabilities recently is Risacher, who has done some of the little things better, which has opened up his game later in the season. Tonight, Risacher finished with a near double-double of 19 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, one assist, and one steal. The most important thing to note here is that Risacher did this while coming off the bench, with efficient shooting of 50% from the field and 60% from three-point range.

2. Offensive efficiency

JJ from the top 🔑 pic.twitter.com/lvce2QdqJv
— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 13, 2026

Atlanta was able to take advantage of the Nets' defensive and offensive struggles, which, in turn, made the offense better later in the game. For the game, however, the Hawks struggled shooting as a team, going 39% from the field and 30% from three-point range, but the key to this win for them was making the Nets pay for their own turnovers. Brooklyn finished with 20 turnovers, and Atlanta scored 29 points off them, leading to a comfortable win despite the shooting woes.

3. Zone defense

For much of this game, Atlanta relied on their ability to play zone defense, and at times, it came back to bite them as they would give up many open three-point opportunities. This would continue throughout the second half, leading to the Nets taking the lead at one point and the Hawks to struggle with pulling away. A player who benefited from this was Josh Minot, who scored his career high and Brooklyn's season high with 24 points and four three-pointers.

4. Atlanta's late season turnaround

It wasn't particularly pretty, but the Hawks beat the Nets at home tonight for their 8th straight victory.

Longest winning streak for Atlanta since March 2021.

21-9-9 for Jalen Johnson.

19 and 9 for Zaccharie Risacher.

Full breakdown coming on @LockedOnHawks.
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) March 13, 2026

To start the season, Atlanta looked lost, but since the All-Star Break, it's been clear they've made defensive adjustments and taken advantage of the schedule. The Hawks have their longest win streak in five years, and they continue to make strides as a young team that is getting healthy and building chemistry before the postseason. Hawks fans definitely should be excited about what the team could do to end this season and the next with the young talent they have.