Daniels, Hawks blitz Warriors in a third-quarter knockout

The game is still hanging in the balance early in the third when Atlanta flips the switch and leaves Golden State chasing shadows. What starts as a tight, back-and-forth first half turns into a blowout in a hurry, with the Hawks ripping off a 20-point run in the third quarter and turning a 65-63 edge into an 84-64 cushion. From there, the Warriors never get within striking distance again.

Dyson Daniels is the engine behind the surge and the tone-setter on both ends. He finishes with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in 32 minutes, and the box score only tells part of the story. He keeps pressure on the defense, gets into the paint, and repeatedly sparks Atlanta’s transition game with live-ball disruption. The Hawks are already rolling when O. Okongwu caps the defining run with a 9-foot turnaround hook off a D. Daniels assist, and that sequence feels like the moment Golden State loses its grip on the night. Atlanta goes from trading punches to dictating every possession.

The first half actually offers a little drama. Golden State opens with a narrow 36-35 lead after one, and by halftime the game is still tight at 63-61, with nine lead changes keeping both teams in the fight. The Warriors even punch back early when W. Richard finishes a running layup in a 10-0 spurt that swings the scoreboard from 29-23 to 29-32. But that brief burst is one of the few times they build real momentum. Atlanta keeps answering, and once the Hawks start winning the possession battle and getting cleaner looks, the game’s pace tilts sharply in their favor.

CJ McCollum is a major part of that control, putting up 23 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists while giving Atlanta a steady half-court scorer whenever the Warriors try to slow things down. De'Anthony Melton adds 20 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists in just 22 minutes, and his impact shows up in more than one way. Late in the fourth, with the game long decided, Atlanta still layers on pressure as P. Spencer drills an 11-foot pullup jumper at 3:09, then later knocks down a 9-foot turnaround fadeaway with 1:10 left. Even in garbage time, the Hawks keep the floor spaced and the ball moving.

The fourth quarter becomes more about the final stamp than the outcome itself. Atlanta stretches the lead to 126-101 before Golden State trims the margin with a 9-0 run capped by M. Leons’ running dunk. But even that sequence feels cosmetic. Mouhamed Gueye, who finishes with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, keeps closing possessions on the glass and then erasing shots at the rim. He blocks one with 2:36 left, another at 2:15, and one more with 4.5 seconds remaining, helping Atlanta finish the night with a defensive exclamation point. The Hawks don’t just win; they overwhelm the Warriors physically and make sure the box score reflects it.

For Golden State, this one is about missed opportunities early and a disastrous third quarter that wipes out any chance of hanging around. The Warriors’ biggest lead is only 8, and after the break Atlanta simply plays at a higher level on both ends. For the Hawks, this is the kind of convincing win that can matter in the standings and in the locker room: a star-level night from Daniels, strong secondary scoring from McCollum and Melton, and a frontcourt finish from Gueye and Okongwu that turns a competitive game into a statement. If Atlanta can keep defending like this and keep getting this kind of shot distribution, it’s the sort of performance that travels.