Photo Credit: Atlanta Hawks/Instagram
By: Jennifer Portee
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had something for the Kia Center crowd before he was done Wednesday night.
After knocking down a late 3-pointer, the Atlanta guard flashed a hush gesture toward the stands. Then he backed it up, burying a 25-footer with 51 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a five-point lead and help finish off a 132-125 season-opening win over the Orlando Magic.
Alexander-Walker scored 31 points, delivering the biggest shots of the night as Atlanta held off a 35-point, 10-assist performance from Paolo Banchero. Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson added 20 points apiece for the Hawks, who beat Orlando for the sixth straight time and spoiled Sean Sweeney’s debut as Magic coach.
Atlanta had to work for this one. The Hawks climbed out of an early double-digit hole, lost their halftime cushion and nearly lost Johnson to a sixth foul before taking control down the stretch.
One of the game’s biggest decisions came with 4:27 left.
With Atlanta leading 120-117, officials called Johnson for an offensive foul after his elbow caught Desmond Bane in the face. The call would have ended Johnson’s night. Instead, Hawks coach Quin Snyder challenged it, and replay showed Bane had initiated the illegal contact.
The challenge kept Johnson on the floor. Atlanta never trailed again.
Alexander-Walker supplied the late separation, but the Hawks had enough scoring around him to keep Orlando from loading up on one option. C.J. McCollum finished with 19 points, and Aaron Wiggins added 16 alongside the 20-point games from Daniels and Johnson.
That balance mattered against a sharp Banchero, who made his first five shots and finished 10-for-12 from the field. He scored without wasting many possessions and helped create offense for everyone else, too.
Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. each scored 22 points for Orlando. The Magic had the production to stay in it, but they couldn’t get the stops they needed late.
Earlier, Atlanta had flipped the game with a 44-point second quarter. A pair of 12-0 runs helped erase the Hawks’ double-digit deficit and send them into halftime ahead 72-62.
Orlando answered after the break. Banchero sparked an 11-0 run, then completed a three-point play with two minutes left in the third quarter to put the Magic ahead 98-95 their first lead of the second half.
The Hawks had already watched one lead disappear. When they got another chance to close, Alexander-Walker made sure Orlando had to chase.
His final 3-pointer pushed Atlanta’s advantage to 128-123 with less than a minute left. The crowd had seen the gesture. Now the Magic were running out of time to respond.
Atlanta continues its road trip Friday at Charlotte. Orlando stays home to face Minnesota that night.