The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From Atlanta's 39 point Win Over Memphis

The Hawks kept things rolling last night by blowing out the Memphis Grizzlies and now Atlanta is ready for the final ten games of the season. Atlanta is in the midst of a playoff push and they are currently in 6th place in the Eastern Conference and only a half game behind Toronto for the No. 5 spot in the East.

So what were some good things, some bad things, and even some ugly things from last night?

The Good

A win is always good and a home win is better. The Hawks have won 11 straight at home and 13 of their last 14 games overall. Atlanta is 14-2 since the All-Star Break and they tied last season's win total last night.

The win marks Atlanta’s 18th victory against a Western Conference opponent this season, the most wins against the West since the 2015-16 campaign (19).

Atlanta's 146 points are the second-most points scored in a game by the club this season. The Hawks shot .533% (49-92 FGM) from the field, marking their 24th game this season shooting .500%-or-better. Atlanta also shot .463% (25-54 3FGM) from downtown, marking the 23rd time shooting .400%-or-better this season and a franchise-best, tying 25 made triples. Last night is just the third time in franchise history that Atlanta has buried 25 three-pointers. Atlanta had 11 different players knock down a triple, marking just the second time in franchise history that 11 players recorded a make from deep. The last time Atlanta had 11 players make at least one three-pointer was 12/21/2024 vs Memphis.

The Hawks shot .920% (23-25) from the free throw line, notching their 7th game of the season shooting .900%-or-better from the line. Last night was the fourth time this season Atlanta has recorded 50/40/90 shooting splits, the second-most such games in the league, trailing only Denver (5).

The Hawks recorded 12 steals, marking their 36th game with double-digit thefts, the second-most such games in the Eastern Conference this season. With tonight's victory, Atlanta improved to 26-10 when recording 10+ steals. Atlanta dished out 37 assists in the victory, marking their league-leading 43rd game of the season with 30+ assists. With Atlanta's 37 assists, the Hawks have dished out 2,188 total assists this season, surpassing the 2023-24 team for the second-most total assists in a single season in franchise history.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker tallied a game-high tying 26 points on 8-11 shooting, including shooting 4-6 from deep and a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe, to go along with two rebounds and six assists in 26 minutes of play. The Virginia Tech product secured his career-best 41st straight game scoring in double figures, and his 67th double-digit scoring outing of the season, the third-most such games in the NBA and the most in a single season in his career. After tonight's victory, Alexander-Walker is shooting .901% from the free-throw line this season. Entering last night, he had the fifth-best free-throw percentage in the NBA.

CJ McCollum recorded 15 points, shooting 3-5 from beyond the arc, in addition to four rebounds and a season-high nine assists in 22 minutes of play, marking his 28th game of the season scoring 20-or-more points. McCollum handed out seven assists in tonight's opening half, tied for the second-most assists in a single half in his career, and just the 10th time in his career he has had at least seven helpers in a single half.

Onyeka Okongwu recorded 16 points on 5-7 shooting in addition to five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in 20 minutes of play, marking his 55th game of the season scoring in double figures. With his block last night, Okongwu notched his 400th career rejection, becoming one of 11 Hawks in franchise history with 400 blocks.

Jonathan Kuminga recorded 16 points on 5-7 shooting, including a career-best tying four makes from deep (4-6 3FGM), in addition to five rebounds, three assists in 20 minutes off the bench, marking his 16th game of the season scoring in double figures.

Dyson Daniels recorded 12 points on 5-8 shooting, including shooting 2-3 from deep, in addition to five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes of play, marking his 45th game this season scoring 10+ points.

Zaccharie Risacher recorded 11 points on 4-8 shooting, in addition to eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 26 minutes off the bench, marking his 29th game of the season scoring in double figures.

Atlanta scored 39 points on 21 turnovers.

Atlanta had 74 bench points.

Atlanta outrebounded Memphis 44-34.

The Bad

It is hard to pick out anything bad from this game, but if I am going to nitpick, the Hawks did commit eight first quarter turnovers. They only committed three the rest of the way, but being that turnover heavy in one quarter would hurt them against a better team, like Detroit on Wednesday.