Big victory in an unexpected circumstance.
The Atlanta Hawks had their biggest win of the season as they knocked off the world champions Boston Celtics with a 117-116 win. It was the first game of the Emirates NBA Cup for both teams.
It was a huge win for the Hawks, as they have had recent losses against some of the worst teams in the league such as the Pistons, Bulls and Wizards. The Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Hawks had a huge night from the NBA steals leader Dyson Daniels. Daniels had a career high 28 points and seven assists.
He also was outstanding on defense matching up with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum throughout the night. Daniel finished the night with six big steals. Head coach Quin Snyder needed a big night from Daniels as he was without the team’s leading scorer Trae Young.
Coach Snyder is not surprise by the early success of Daniels as he always knew what Daniels was capable of doing as a player with Pelicans.
“He had a new career-high, but he also had seven assists and some rebounds in there,” said Snyder. “When you’ve got wings like Herb Jones, [Brandon Ingram], and Trey Murphy III, it’s hard to get into that rotation. So, coming here was so good for his confidence defensively. You know, he is taking some more gambles now and obviously they’re paying off. And, I thought Larry [Nance Jr.] too, but you know, our, three bigs, Clint [Capela] and Larry, Onyeka [Okongwu] were terrific, all three of them.”
Larry Nance Jr. finished the game with 19 points, Clint Capela added 18 and Onyeka Okongwu had the game-winner and 15 points. The Hawks outscored the Celtics in the paint 68-32. The three also combined for 17 rebounds as the Hawks out-rebounded the Celtics 45-34.
Point-forward Jalen Johnson had a triple-double as he finished the game with 18 points, 10 assists and 13 rebounds.
The Hawks will be back in action on Friday at home against the Wizards for their second Emirates NBA Cup game.