Instant Takeaways From The Hawks Ugly Loss To The Raptors

There were plenty of big takeaways from the Hawks opening night loss to Toronto

Oct 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis (8) shoots against the Toronto Raptors in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Today, the NBA season has officially started for the Atlanta Hawks, and it got off to an interesting start, to say the least, as the Hawks opened the season with a loss after a struggling night against the Raptors. This is the first game between the two teams, as they will meet again for In-Season Tournament Play on Friday, November 7, at 7:30 PM ET.

Tonight's Final pic.twitter.com/daHtxTRDkx

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 23, 2025

1. Turnovers and defensive struggles

Brandon Ingram gets to the hole for his first points as a Raptor 👏

It's BI's first NBA game since December 2024.pic.twitter.com/JOr8X4gthK

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 22, 2025

Since the game started, Toronto put pressure on the Hawks' interior and made them pay, scoring over 70 points in the paint. The Hawks also struggled with taking care of the basketball, as they had 10 turnovers in the first half and 16 for the game, which led to 22 points being scored off turnovers by Toronto. By halftime, Toronto was on pace for 130 points and ended up scoring 138, having scored 65 points in the first half, and 38 of those points came inside the paint. Toronto would also finish with three players scoring at least 20 points in this game.

2. Hawks punish Toronto in the paint

JJ running the whole floor ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/SRFj9bPqdG

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 23, 2025

Even though Atlanta struggled with guarding the paint, they were able to return the favor to Toronto by scoring almost half of their points inside and going to the free-throw line 37 times, compared to Toronto's 15 times in the first quarter. For the game, they scored 56 points in the paint and 32 points from the free throw line, but nearly clawed their way back into the game by doing this before giving up a third-quarter run.

3. Jalen Johnson dominates

Tried to tackle Jalen and it didn't matter 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/2OKmiC07WU

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 23, 2025

Coming into this season, many expected Johnson to become the Hawks' best potential player, and tonight he demonstrated that by finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block. Much of this stat line came with highlight reel plays from Johnson, as he had a big and-one scoring play on Scottie Barnes, who nearly tackled him from behind.

4. Kristaps Porzingis does well in Hawks debut

Kristaps Porzingis fires it from DEEP 🎯pic.twitter.com/FqSnZILgOR

— Hawks Nation (@HawksNationCP) October 23, 2025

After months of anticipation, Porzingis finally made his official regular-season debut for Atlanta and looked like the player the Hawks felt they were going to get. Tonight, Porzingis finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks. One of the standout parts of Porzingis's game was his ability to space the floor for Atlanta and guard against the paint. He was able to prevent easy scoring opportunities for Toronto at times and make some deep three-point shots.

5. Zaccharie Risacher

Patented Zacch mini run ♨️ pic.twitter.com/RwX5rfObyV

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) October 23, 2025

After a strong preseason, Risacher continues to improve as he plays more games, and tonight was no different as he delivered another efficient performance. Risacher was on pace to score at least 20 points before he tweaked his ankle, and wouldn't have the same impact as he did pre-injury. Despite this, he finished with 16 points on 53% shooting from the field, was able to get to the basket, and made a couple of shots from three-point range.

The Hawks will be back on the floor Friday night against Orlando.