On Wednesday night, the Atlanta Hawks took advantage of a floundering Sacramento Kings team and embarrassed them in their own court. Despite Trae Young's absence, the Jalen Johnson-led Hawks put up a clinic on both ends of the court, as they demolished the Kings by 33 points, 133-100, in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate, as lopsided as the game already was.
The Kings had so many identity issues that the Hawks tore them apart bit by bit, with Johnson taking advantage of the chaos. The burgeoning star forward put up 24 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists while making nine of his 10 shots from the field, and in so doing, he became the first non-center since 2000 to record a 24/10/8 game on 90 percent shooting in the league, as per StatMuse.
Johnson exploited a paper-soft Kings interior defense, as he got to the rim at will and finished nearly every time he got there. The Hawks' spacing and pace also deserve plenty of credit for giving Johnson the space to impose his will in the paint.
Without Young, it was expected that Johnson would be the one to step up the most. And while his scoring hasn't exactly popped off, his all-around game certainly has. He is expressing his playmaking skill in ways that weren't quite evident in years past, and head coach Quin Snyder knows that the Hawks can run the offense through the 23-year-old forward.
With this latest win, the Hawks have moved to 7-5 on the season.
Hawks look to right the ship amid rocky start
The Hawks are leaning on a more defensive identity to get them wins amid Young's absence. Without Young, there are hardly any defensive liabilities on the roster. With Nickeil Alexander-Walker starting in place of Young, the Hawks have been nails on that end of the floor; since October 31 (the first game Young missed after suffering a knee injury), they have put up the second-best defense in the league, allowing just 105.9 points per 100 possessions.
Johnson and the Hawks will be put to the test again tomorrow night when they face the Utah Jazz at 9:00 PM E.T.
