Okongwu's double-double and 15 each for McCollum and Wiggins back Atlanta
This image is an AI-generated illustration rather than matchday photography
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 26 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Washington Wizards 120-105 on Wednesday night, in the first game either side had played against Trae Young since January's trade.
The second quarter that decided the night
Alexander-Walker hit six three-pointers after sinking a career-high-tying nine in Monday's 104-102 win at Indiana, and this time he needed only one quarter to make the difference.
Onyeka Okongwu contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds, while CJ McCollum and Aaron Wiggins scored 15 points each to cover the absence of All-Star forward Jalen Johnson.
The game broke open on a 13-0 run that began at the first-quarter buzzer: Asa Newell's tip-in, two transition baskets from Ejiofor and a Flemings runner inside ninety seconds.
Johnson missed his second consecutive game with a sprained left ankle, which pushed more minutes onto the bench unit and gave Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor bigger roles than their season averages suggest.
Atlanta's quarter scores of 37 and 31 produced a 68-point first half, and the game-high lead of 16 was built before the break.
The player Atlanta got back in the trade
Young's step-back three cut the deficit to 83-79 with a quarter still to play, the closest Washington came after the second-quarter collapse.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards and Kyshawn George added 25, but the trio could not stop a third quarter that yielded only 24 points.
Corey Kispert, acquired with the trade that sent Young away, hit a four-point play immediately afterwards, and the game never got closer than six points again.
Washington conceded 52 points after the break while scoring 44 of its own, and the lead never came back inside six points once Kispert answered Young.
Washington sit at 4-4 with a 2-2 record at home, and the last twelve minutes produced only 20 points after a 29-point second quarter that had briefly kept the building interested.
Friday in Atlanta, and the bigger picture
Friday brings the second half of the back-to-back series to Atlanta, with NBA Cup group standings on the line before either side has had a full week to fix what it got wrong here.
Atlanta will want the second game without needing six three-pointers from one guard again, particularly if Johnson's ankle keeps him out of the rotation.
Nothing about this result is fatal for either side after nine games, but the Hawks have played two straight games without their best forward and still found a way to win both, which is the more encouraging data point of the week.
For Washington the pattern is becoming familiar: competitive for a quarter, short for three, and a roster still organised around a player who is not on it any more.
Beyond that, the margin, in the end, was the second quarter: a 13-0 stretch and 31 points, against 29 before the break and 20 after it.
Editor's take: Washington's home record sits at 2-2 through nine games. In a conference this tight, the games that look winnable are the ones that define a season.
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