The Hawks ultimately had to wait longer than expected to pop the champagne and enjoy their last success of the year. Despite a little scare at the end, Trae Young and his 40 points, well accompanied by the Murray-Johnson-Capela trio, were able to do what was necessary to win (130-126).
Washington, however, got off to a flying start, with Kyle Kuzma in the mix to set the tone (19-6), but the euphoria was short-lived. Atlanta responded immediately with an 18-5 victory concluded by Jalen Johnson's dunk to put their team back in front (27-28). It took a 3-pointer at the miraculous buzzer for Washington to regain the lead at the end of the first act.
Atlanta got off to a great start, carried by a fiery Trae Young, to shoot from far away or to make Jalen Johnson and then Clint Capela shine at high altitude. This time it was a 15-4 which allowed the Hawks to regain the upper hand (45-51). The Murray-Johnson-Capela trio maintained the pressure until the break (58-70).
The Wizards keep the suspense going
Despite the offensive of the Poole-Kuzma pair to return to -2 (81-83), Saddiq Bey's 3-pointer followed by the demonstration of Dejounte Murray, author of 10 points including a 2+1 and a 3-pointer put Atlanta back at +14 shortly before the start of the last act (84-98). Trae Young then took control of the match, making sure to maintain the gap by aligning the right choices, particularly in scoring with 12 points scored in less than 10 minutes, including a final 3-pointer to bring the score to 108 -123.
When they thought they had done the hard part 2 minutes from the end, Washington restarted with a 3+1 from Tyus Jones. A 3-pointer from Deni Avdija and a dunk from Daniel Gafford then reduced the gap to -5 with 41 seconds remaining. With the points left on free throws by Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and Jalen Johnson, the Wizards managed to come back to -3 following two aerial sequences from Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford (126-129).
Dejounte Murray finally scored the saving throw 6 seconds from the end to prevent Washington from retaliating, and ensuring the victory for the Hawks (130-126).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A black hole of no consequence. The Hawks, who were coming off ten losses in their last 13 games, remain a sick team and this poorly controlled end of the match is one of the examples to illustrate this, with the gap going from +15 to +3 in one snap of fingers. The collective suddenly froze, the arms shook on free throws, and it was finally very close for Atlanta to fall by the wayside.
– A career high for Jalen Johnson. Back from injury for barely a week, the former Duke resident set a career record with his 24 points at 9/12 shooting to go with his 13 rebounds. Jalen Johnson was aggressive throughout the game and was rewarded for his efforts. On arrival, his performance counted in a match which ultimately came close.
– Bilal Coulibaly in the tough? The French rookie only played 17 minutes, his shortest playing time in two months for 2 points, 0/3 shooting, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. He found himself in the picture on a few shots from elsewhere by Trae Young and was generally in difficulty against the Young-Murray back pair. Very good in the first half of December, Bilal Coulibaly has been in tougher times since… Looking forward to 2024!
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
