Nickeil Alexander-Walker made 5 of his 8 3-point attempts and went 10-of-13 at the free-throw line Wednesday night at Kia Center. He finished with 31 points, and the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a 132-125 win over the Orlando Magic.
The lead changed hands 22 times. The teams were tied 9 times in front of a sellout crowd of 18,864.
Atlanta trailed 33-28 through one quarter, then scored 44 points in the second to take a 72-62 lead into halftime. Orlando won the third quarter 38-27 and led 100-99 going into the fourth. Over the final 12 minutes, the Hawks outscored the Magic 33-25.
Each team made 30 free throws. Orlando attempted 39 and Atlanta 36, and the Hawks were called for 30 fouls.
Hawks Survive Foul Trouble
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said the fouls that hurt most came on loose-ball rebounds after his team had already gotten a stop.
"The third quarter, give Orlando credit," Snyder said. "They really drive the ball and physical drives where you've got to be disciplined, and that third quarter, we put them on the line, and when that happens, the rhythm of the game obviously changes, the pace changes. I really thought we did a good job of kind of working our way out of that. During that stretch, we had a couple really good defensive possessions."
"The fouls that really hurt us," Snyder continued, "coming up with, like, loose-ball rebounds and getting hits and those things when you do get a stop and then picking up a foul in those situations, I think it's just something we need to be more conscious of, getting bodies on people [at] the rim when shots are taken. Some of those rebounds, if you come up with that rebound, you've got a chance to go the other way. And that was really, I thought, the last portion of the game. When we did get some stops, we were able to get out and go. But the foul line, the free throws, really have an impact on the game."
Atlanta finished with 18 fast-break points to Orlando's 14. The Magic committed 20 turnovers, and the Hawks scored 24 points off them. Orlando turned Atlanta's 17 turnovers into 18 points.
In the paint, the Hawks held a 60-50 edge. The Magic had 20 second-chance points to Atlanta's 12.
Alexander-Walker Leads Balanced Atlanta Attack
Dyson Daniels scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and had 5 of the Hawks' 9 steals. Jalen Johnson also scored 20, with 14 rebounds and 6 assists, while playing through 5 fouls.
CJ McCollum added 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
Atlanta shot 48.9% from the field and 14-of-36 from deep. Aaron Wiggins scored 16 off the bench, and Jock Landale had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 18:36.
Both of Orlando's best quarters came at the start of a half. Snyder said the Hawks were fortunate to leave with a road win against a team he called really good.
"We need to be better," Snyder explained. "I was disappointed with how we started both halves. We didn't share the ball. We didn't run. We just weren't efficient. I shouldn't say we didn't share the ball, but we didn't pass the ball ahead."
"We didn't make the extra pass," Snyder added. "We just weren't as locked in. We worked our way out of it, which was good to see, but I didn't think we played to what I want our identity to be."
Hawks Contain Orlando Just Enough
Paolo Banchero scored 35 points on 10-of-12 shooting and handed out 10 assists for Orlando. He made 12 of his 16 free throws, grabbed 7 rebounds, and committed 6 turnovers in 41:09.
Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. scored 22 apiece, with Carter making 8 of his 10 shots. Desmond Bane added 18. Tristan da Silva made 4 of Orlando's 13 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, and the Magic shot 13-of-40 from 3-point range.
Orlando played without Anthony Black, Jonathan Isaac, Izaiyah Nelson, and Noah Penda, the four players the Magic ruled out before the opener.
Snyder said the Hawks made some of the plays they needed to make to win.
"We're not used to being in rotations, doubling," Snyder said. "[Banchero] does that to you. Wagner did it on his drives, but especially Paolo. He was really good. So efficient. I just think they're a really, really good team."
Alexander-Walker won Most Improved Player last season and set the Hawks' single-season record for 3-pointers made. He scored a career-high 41 points against Orlando on March 16 at State Farm Arena and had 32 in a 130-101 win at Kia Center later that season, when Atlanta finished 4-0 against the Magic.
Atlanta was without Mouhamed Gueye, who is recovering from a left foot fracture, and Henri Veesaar, who tore the ACL in his right knee in September. Both were ruled out Tuesday. Two-way players RayJ Dennis, Keshon Gilbert, and Jalen Wilson were also inactive.
Zuby Ejiofor, Dorian Finney-Smith, Corey Kispert, and Asa Newell did not play.
The Hawks play at the Charlotte Hornets on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center. Their home opener against the Houston Rockets is Saturday at State Farm Arena.