The Atlanta Hawks concluded their road trip Thursday night, where they fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 101-117.
This was set to be a thrilling matchup. Despite being in opposite conferences, the Hawks and Trail Blazers have shared some striking similarities all season. Atlanta entered this matchup at 20-22, while Portland came into the night at 19-22.
Like most games in recent memory for the Hawks, this one was a battle of two shorthanded squads. It was going to be up to each team's depth to come through and secure a victory.
Just a few hours before tip-off, Blazers star forward Deni Avdija was ruled out with a back injury. It was the second straight missed game for Avdija, making Portland have to adjust on the fly. Without his heavy on-ball load, they were forced to lean more heavily on Shaedon Sharpe and their second-year big man Donovan Clingan.
The Hawks, on the other hand, have been without one of their top offensive players for most of the season. Kristaps Porzingis has only played 17 games this year, forcing Atlanta to depend on Onyeka Okongwu for steady nightly production on the inside.
While he's also improved as a finisher at the rim, the most notable development in his game has been in his outside shot. In each of his six NBA seasons, Okongwu has seen solid progression in both his percentages and his confidence from three-point range.
This season has been the real breakout. On a career-high 5.2 attempts from beyond the arc per game, Okongwu is knocking down 36.2% of them. This has helped him notch a career-best 16.0 points per game.
OO's offensive growth was on full display Thursday night in Portland
It's gotten to the point where he could be considered one of the most skilled offensive centers in the NBA. Not only is he able to score with ease and light it up from deep, but he's acted as a hub for Atlanta's offense all season and is depended on for consistent playmaking.
If the Hawks were going to be able to come away with an important victory in Portland, they needed as much out of their starting center as they could get. While they were unable to secure the win, Okongwu did his part on the offensive end.
He wasted no time getting involved. In the first few minutes of the game, Okongwu had already attempted five shots, with four of them coming from three-point range. He wasn't efficient early, but rapidly got comfortable as the game progressed.
The second frame saw him getting into a legitimate rhythm. He added ten points in the quarter, continuing to score from all three levels and wreaking havoc on Portland's versatile defensive schemes.
This same volume was on display all night long. He attempted nine threes in the second half alone, stretching the defense in the most unexpected way.
Onyeka Okongwu is letting it FLY.
— Zach Langley (@langleyatl) January 16, 2026
By the end of the game, Okongwu had attempted 15 threes, connecting on five of them. Many fans assumed this was a result of him forcing his shot, but it was actually the opposite. Portland was daring him to let it fly, and if it wasn't for Atlanta's true lack of effort on the defensive end, it would've come back to bite them in the worst way.
Now, should Onyeka Okongwu make taking 15 threes a night a habit? Of course not. His willingness to always take what the defense gives him and let it fly under any circumstance, however, will force opponents to play five-out and open up plenty of action for Quin Snyder's offensive scheme.