Atlanta Hawks beat Orlando Magic 132-125: Nickeil Alexander-Walker scores 31 and hits two late threes to outlast Paolo Banchero’s 35

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 31 points and hit two threes in the final 90 seconds as the Atlanta Hawks won their season opener 132-125 over the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on Wednesday, October 21. The game had 22 lead changes, and Paolo Banchero’s 35 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds were not enough for Orlando in front of 18,864 fans.

Alexander-Walker went 8-of-15 from the field, 5-of-8 from three and 10-of-13 at the free-throw line. Jalen Johnson added 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists and set up both of the late threes, while Dyson Daniels scored 20 with 5 steals and CJ McCollum had 19 on 7-of-9 shooting.

NAW delivered for the Hawks!

31 PTS
5 3PM (game-high)

Atlanta picks up the win on the road in their season opener 👏 pic.twitter.com/Qp758HWMw9

— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2026

Video: NBA / X.

How it turned

Orlando shot its way to a 33-28 lead after one quarter, with Tristan da Silva hitting two threes off Jase Richardson passes in a 39-second span. Atlanta flipped the game in the second. Aaron Wiggins and Luguentz Dort hit threes off the bench, Daniels scored 13 points in the quarter, and the Hawks outscored the Magic 44-29, and McCollum’s 25-foot pull-up three in the final half-minute made it 72-59 before a Banchero three sent the teams to halftime at 72-62.

The Hawks pushed the lead to 14 at 79-65 early in the third, and McCollum hit two threes and Alexander-Walker one as they traded shots with Desmond Bane, keeping the lead at 91-79 with 6:20 left in the quarter. Then Orlando went on a 28-10 run. Wendell Carter Jr. scored six straight points, Goga Bitadze finished a three-point play to tie it at 95, and Banchero’s and-one gave the Magic the lead. Orlando led 100-99 after three, and Banchero’s three-point play and a Jalen Suggs dunk made it 107-101 with 10:10 to play.

Atlanta answered right away, with a Jock Landale alley-oop and hook shot sandwiched around a Wiggins pull-up three. The lead changed hands seven more times before Alexander-Walker’s driving layup put the Hawks ahead 118-117 with five minutes left, and Atlanta never trailed again. Banchero cut it to 122-121 with 1:37 left, but Alexander-Walker hit a 27-foot step-back three on the next trip. After a Carter alley-oop, he made another three from 25 feet with 51.4 seconds left for a 128-123 lead, and Onyeka Okongwu and Johnson closed it out at the line.

NAW SINKS THE CLUTCH 3 🎯

He's got 31 PTS (5 3PM) as the Hawks lead with under a minute to play! pic.twitter.com/e9BkCeD9w0

— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2026

The numbers

Atlanta scored 60 points in the paint to Orlando’s 50 and turned the Magic’s 20 turnovers into 24 points. Both teams made 30 free throws; the Hawks needed 36 attempts and the Magic 39. Atlanta shot 49 percent from the field and 14-of-36 from three, while Orlando went 13-of-40 from deep. Okongwu had 8 points and 7 assists at center, Wiggins scored 16 with three threes in his first game for Atlanta, and Landale added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Orlando’s side

Banchero played 41 minutes and made 10 of his 12 shots, including 3 of 4 from three, and 12 of 16 free throws, but he also had 6 of Orlando’s 20 turnovers. Franz Wagner scored 22 with 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Carter had 22 points and 7 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting, and Bane finished with 18 on 5-of-15 shooting. Da Silva scored 14 off the bench and Bitadze grabbed 6 rebounds in 12 minutes. The Magic were without Jonathan Isaac (knee) and Anthony Black (ankle).

What’s next

The Hawks visit the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, October 23 (7 p.m. ET, 2 a.m. Saturday Cairo time). The Magic host the Minnesota Timberwolves the same night (7 p.m. ET, 2 a.m. Saturday Cairo time).

Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head. Before the opener, Orlando picked up the 2027-28 options on da Silva and Richardson.