Hawks Drop Young's Wizards 120-105

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 26 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 120-105 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. The victory marked the first meeting between the two teams since the Hawks traded four-time All-Star Trae Young to Washington in January.

Alexander-Walker made six 3-pointers in the contest. He had tied his career high with nine 3-pointers in a 104-102 win at Indiana on Monday. Onyeka Okongwu contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds for Atlanta, which played without All-Star forward Jalen Johnson for the second straight game due to a sprained left ankle.

CJ McCollum and Aaron Wiggins each added 15 points for the Hawks. Washington's Trae Young, who previously starred for Atlanta, finished with 18 points. Anthony Davis led the Wizards with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Kyshawn George added 25 points.

Atlanta built its game-high lead of 16 in the second quarter on a 13-0 run. The surge included a tip-in by Asa Newell at the first-quarter buzzer and transition baskets by Zuby Ejiofor, which prompted a timeout from Wizards coach Brian Keefe. Kingston Flemings and Wiggins extended the advantage before Dyson Daniels made it 48-32 with 9:06 left in the half.

Washington closed the gap to seven points by halftime and cut it to four twice in the third quarter. Young hit a step-back 3-pointer to make it 83-79. However, Corey Kispert, a player Atlanta acquired in the trade for Young, answered with a four-point play on the next possession. The game never returned to within six points after that.

The Hawks and Wizards will meet again in Friday's NBA Cup game in Atlanta to complete their home-and-home set.