The Atlanta Hawks (22-25) have now won five games in a row, just two short of their season-best mark for consecutive wins. It came at the expense of the Sacramento Kings who fell 121-104 who were without De’Aaron Fox while the Hawks got Bogdan Bogdanovic back from his five-game absence.
It was the third multi-game absence for Bogdanovic who finished the night with 18 points on 54.5 percent shooting.
Bogi also had seven assists, though, his best pass would only count in hockey.
He was part of a bench effort that scored a season-high 70 points and played 26.8 minutes on average; well above their 17.2 minutes per game average this season. They also had three of their four double-digit scorers come off the pine in this one.
The Atlanta Hawks bench earned some rest for the starters in the blowout of SAC
Things certainly did not start well with Sacramento’s Davion Mitchell going off for 10 first-quarter points. The Kings had 10 assists, shot over 58.0 percent from the floor, and were plus-five on the glass. Atlanta would finish the opening frame trailing 33-21 but they had gotten down by as much as 14 points at one point.
Some funky officiating led to a Nate McMillan tech that made the score 34-21. The Hawks would go on a 9-0 run and end the half with a 14-point lead.
Their 46-point second quarter was a benchmark for this season.
Between highlight-worthy plays from Onyeka Okongwu, veterans Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams turning back the clock, and McMillan’s foul there were plenty of galvanizing moments in this game.
"“We’re a playoff team. Starting to play like one. We’ve just got to continue to stay consistent through this stretch.” – Onyeka Okongwu via Sarah K. Spencer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
McMillan was full of praise for his bench.
"I thought they really gave us a lift."
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) January 27, 2022
Nate, on the bench pic.twitter.com/vKNMMQjlE5
They are current;y 12th so if they are the playoff team he insists they are, they need more efforts like the ones they’ve put on during this winning streak where they’ve notably turned up the intensity on both ends.
Trae Young finished with just 17 points and tied with John Collins for the lead among starters with just over 24 minutes, far below the season average for both players.
With a couple of tough matchups on this homestand, getting to rest the starters in a luxury otherwise reserved for rest days and blowouts the other way. The fact that it came in a win inspired by the play of the bench bodes well for a Hawks team that was playing with a fully healthy roster for the first time since Jan 3.