Hawks beat Mavericks 135-111 as Nickeil Alexander-Walker hits six threes

The Atlanta Hawks finished their preseason with a 135-111 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night at American Airlines Center, and they did it with a second quarter that turned a close game into a rout. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and made six of his 10 three-point attempts, and Atlanta’s reserves did most of the damage as the visitors led for all but 41 seconds.

The result matters less for the score than for what each team showed five days before the regular season. Atlanta looked deep and comfortable shooting from the perimeter. Dallas, in its last test under first-year coach Dusty May, again struggled to stay in front of shooters and gave up its highest total of the exhibition schedule.

How the game turned

The first quarter was competitive, with Atlanta ahead 39-34 after 12 minutes. The second belonged entirely to the Hawks. They outscored Dallas 34-20 and carried a 73-54 lead into halftime. Atlanta added another 29-24 edge in the third quarter to push the margin to 102-78, and the lead peaked at 29 before both coaches emptied their benches. The fourth quarter finished 33-33.

The gap came from three areas. Atlanta made 21 of 51 three-point attempts against 13 of 33 for Dallas, went 34 of 45 at the free-throw line against 18 of 26, and won the glass 55-42, including 17 offensive rebounds. The Hawks also assisted on 36 of their 40 baskets.

Leading performers

Alexander-Walker added five assists in 26:52 and finished plus-21. Jalen Johnson posted 20 points and 14 rebounds, getting most of his scoring at the line, where he went 9 of 11. The reserves did the rest: Aaron Wiggins scored 19 with four threes and a plus-33 rating, Jock Landale added 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting with five assists, and rookie Kingston Flemings had 10 points and six assists without a turnover. Luguentz Dort chipped in eight points and three steals.

For Dallas, Cooper Flagg led everyone with 26 points and 12 rebounds, going 8 of 20 from the field and 8 of 9 at the line, with four assists and two steals. Zaccharie Risacher scored 18 on 8-of-12 shooting against the team that drafted him, and Kyrie Irving had 18 points and five assists in 24 minutes, hitting five of his seven threes. The rest of the starting group was quieter: P.J. Washington Jr. shot 3 of 13, and the Dallas bench combined for 35 points, the same total Wiggins and Landale produced on their own.

What it means

For Atlanta, the bench depth is the headline. Flemings, Landale and Wiggins gave the Hawks a second unit that shot well and moved the ball, which should ease the load on the starters early in the season. The one quiet note was CJ McCollum, who went 2 of 11 from the field.

For Dallas, the positives were individual. Flagg looked ready for a heavier load, and Irving’s shooting was sharp in his return to the home floor after his long knee rehabilitation. But the perimeter defense that May has been trying to fix all month was beaten again, and the Mavericks will open the season with Dereck Lively II still sidelined after foot surgery.

What comes next

The Hawks open the regular season at the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, October 21, at 7 p.m. ET (Game Center). The Mavericks begin the same night at the Houston Rockets at 8:30 p.m. ET (Game Center). The full box score is in the Game Center for Friday’s game.