Atlanta’s 139–132 win over Washington on Friday night had a compelling homecoming at its centre. Trae Young returned to State Farm Arena wearing a Wizards uniform, but it was the Hawks’ new-look backcourt — including Australian Dyson Daniels — that helped ensure the visitors left without the NBA Cup result they wanted.
Daniels finished with 13 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, falling one board short of a triple-double. It wasn’t the loudest scoring line in a game full of them. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led Atlanta with 28 points, Luguentz Dort added 25 and Onyeka Okongwu contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds. Yet Daniels’ 12 assists tell a useful story about how the Hawks generated offence without asking one player to dominate every possession.
The context makes his contribution more interesting. According to the official Hawks box score, two nights earlier Daniels had collected 16 rebounds and eight assists in Atlanta’s 120–105 victory in Washington, despite scoring just eight points. Across the home-and-home series, he supplied 20 assists and 25 rebounds. That’s an unusually broad contribution from a guard, and it shows why his value to Atlanta isn't neatly captured by his points column. He can help finish possessions on the glass, then help start the next attack.
Friday’s game was hardly comfortable. Atlanta scored 38 points in the second quarter and 39 in the third, building a lead of as many as 14, but Washington kept coming. The Wizards got within three late in the fourth before Alexander-Walker and Okongwu settled the contest at the foul line. Atlanta’s 139 points were enough, although conceding 132 is a reminder that its defensive work still has to match the fluency of its attack.
Young scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists in his return, but also committed eight turnovers. The former Hawks star’s presence gave the game an obvious narrative, especially after his January move to Washington. Atlanta had a different story to tell on the floor: multiple scoring options, a distributor in Daniels and enough late composure to survive a serious push from its former franchise guard.
For Australian followers, Daniels’ latest line is particularly encouraging because it builds on his earlier rebounding and playmaking performance rather than relying on a hot shooting night. He’s finding ways to influence Atlanta’s possessions in several phases. The NBA Cup fixture gives the Hawks a group-opening win, and they’ve now won three straight and opened East Group C play with a victory. Their next challenge is to make that collective attack less vulnerable to the sort of late surge Washington nearly turned into a comeback.
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