The Atlanta Hawks began 2024 with a narrow victory over the high-flying OKC Thunder — winners of five in a row prior — at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night, 141-138.
Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with a career-high 28 points with Trae Young adding 24 points to go with 11 assists. For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 33 points while Jalen Williams contributed 21 points.
The Hawks were pegged as slight favorites heading into this contest on account of OKC’s high-stakes, closely contested victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday as well as travel issues getting into Atlanta — and the first quarter played as though those factors were extremely telling.