The Atlanta Hawks had a battle of the unbeatens on Saturday night against the Houston Rockets, and it did not go their way. After trailing for much of the game, the Hawks battled back and kept playing hard, making the Rockets sweat in the fourth quarter, but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. The two teams are going to meet again on Wednesday, with the Hawks hoping for a much different result.
Who were the biggest winners and losers from the Hawks first matchup with the Rockets on Saturday night?
Winner: Jalen Johnson
Jalen Johnson had a chance to cut the Rockets lead to three late and he missed a point-blank layup, but it was his best game of the season aside from that moment late in the game.
Johnson finished the game with 26 points (8-for19 from the field, 2-for-7 from three), tied his career-high with 16 assists, and had nine rebounds. He finished the game as a +3 in his minutes, the only Hawk to win his minutes.
The shooting efficiency was not quite there against an elite Houston defense, but after a lackluster first couple of games, Johnson looked more like the All-NBA selection he was last season.
Loser: Onyeka Okongwu
It has not been the start of the season that Onyeka Okongwu wanted to have.
He has not been able to find his shooting touch from three so far this season and was ineffective in all facets of the game on Saturday night. He finished the game with eight points, seven rebounds, and shot 2-for-9 from the field, including an 0-for-5 night shooting the ball from three.
Okongwu being able to space the floor is critical for this Hawks offense and he has not been able to do so this season. I expect he will bounce back, but it has been a tough first three games for him.
Winner: Aaron Wiggins
It was another outstanding night for Wiggins, who has had a great start to the season for the Hawks. Wiggins was once against the star off the bench for Atlanta, scoring 16 of the 17 bench points and hitting four of his nine three point attempts.
Wiggins played a role in gettin the Hawks back into the game and he looks comfortable playing alongside the starters. There are things to build on, but it has been a great trade so far for Atlanta.
Loser: The rest of the bench
While Wiggins had another fantastic night, it was rather forgettable for the rest of the Hawks bench.
Kingston Flemings, Jock Landale, and Lu Dort combined for 11 points, with seven of those points coming from Dort. Flemings and Landale combined to shoot 2-for-10 from the field and missed all six of their combined three point attempts.
It has to be an all-hands on deck type of effort when you are facing the Rockets and the Hawks just could not get enough from the other three players on the bench. That has to be better on Monday night on the road.
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