ATLANTA – Over the past few years, Onyeka Okongwu has not been afraid to let the three-ball fly, and the team has empowered him to keep shooting. Results like tonight are what happen when you keep shooting it, and Okongwu's seven three-pointers led the Hawks to a 135-101 win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
When the Hawks played the Trail Blazers earlier this season, Okongwu shot 15 three-pointers but only made five of them. This time around, he took 12.
After a few fell in the first quarter, he would look at the Trail Blazers' bench and motion how many threes he had at the moment.
“I know one of the coaches over there,” Okongwu said. “I was looking at him like, ‘You let me shoot all night?' Then, after my fourth one, I told him to change coverage.”
Fun fact: they did not change the coverage.
Okongwu basically lived on the perimeter all night, offsetting Donovan Clingan's paint presence and making him step up to the three-point line to defend him.
“When I make one, two, or three, they got to do something about it,” Okongwu said. “When it rains, it pours.”
“He tells everyone in the locker room that he’s the best shooter in the locker room,” Dyson Daniels said. “So if they leave him open like that, he’s got to go out and prove it. When he’s hot and knocking them down like he did, you find him, even when he’s not knocking them down. We trust [Okongwu] to take those shots; we want him to take those shots. It helps our team.”
That rain turned into a bigger storm for the Trail Blazers, as the Hawks continued to drain three-pointers, use their lightning speed to get points in transition, and threw down several thunderous dunks throughout the game. But it all started with how Okongwu set the tone to start.
“Before the game, they were jokingly saying to shoot 20 threes tonight. Everyone was telling me to shoot if they’re going to play me like that. And tonight, made them pay for it,” Okongwu said.
“You get more confident when your teammates are confident in you,” Quin Snyder said. “Guys were looking for him. We talked about not trying to attack the rim if the rim is protected. Those were shots that we’ve seen him take and make. The last few games, he hasn’t shot it as well as he liked to, but he got in and did extra work, and it showed tonight.”
If it's one person who has helped instill that confidence in Okongwu to shoot the ball, it's Snyder. Since he became the head coach, Okongwu has shot more three-pointers every season. After a while, Snyder drew up plays for Okongwu to get open looks on the perimeter.
Now, Okongwu's three-pointers come within the flow of the offense, and teams have to make an effort to come out and guard him.
The Trail Blazers didn't seem to want to make any adjustments to their game plan, so Okongwu kept putting the shots up. He finished the game with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, and the Hawks walked away with their fourth straight win as they wrapped up their homestand.
