Hawks torch Grizzlies 146-107 behind 71-point first half

Atlanta doesn’t just beat Memphis — it blows the doors off from the opening quarter and never lets the Grizzlies breathe. The Hawks race out to a 32-22 lead after one, then turn the game into a full-on track meet in the second quarter, pouring in 39 points to reach 71 by halftime. By the time the third quarter ends, Atlanta is sitting on 116 points and a 41-point cushion, with the final 146-107 score feeling more like a formality than a finish.

The tone is set early when C. McCollum drills a 26-foot three to spark an 11-point home run that flips a tight 7-8 game into an 18-8 Atlanta lead. That’s the first real separation, and it comes on the back of clean ball movement and quick-trigger shooting. Memphis briefly stays within striking distance, but Atlanta keeps answering with pace and spacing. J. Kuminga buries a 26-foot three in the second quarter off a McCollum assist to push the margin to 42-22, and when N. Alexander-Walker knocks down a three as part of a 12-point burst that stretches the lead from 59-44 to 71-44, the game is already sliding out of reach.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the headliner in a box score full of fireworks, scoring 26 points on 73% shooting in just 26 minutes while adding six assists. He’s everywhere in the second quarter, then keeps the pressure on as Atlanta’s offense keeps humming through the third. J. McCollum — listed in the run data as C. McCollum — helps orchestrate the avalanche with playmaking and shotmaking, including a running pull-up three in the third that extends an already comfortable lead to 89-61. The Hawks aren’t just making shots; they’re getting them in rhythm, off the catch, off the bounce, and in transition.

Memphis does get standout scoring from GG Jackson, who finishes with 26 points on 64% shooting, and there’s a 20-point, eight-rebound effort from an unnamed contributor who at least gives the Grizzlies a physical presence on the glass. But the Hawks never allow those individual flashes to matter. Every Memphis push gets answered immediately. Atlanta wins the math battle from deep, the pace battle in transition, and the turnover battle late when Z. Risacher comes up with a steal at 138-99 in the fourth quarter, before the Hawks turn it into another quick-hit scoring sequence.

The closing minutes are pure runway time for Atlanta’s second unit, but even there the Hawks keep firing. C. Houstan hits a corner three, K. Wallace drills a pull-up triple, and G. Jackson answers for Memphis with a reverse layup and another pull-up three as the Grizzlies try to salvage something aesthetically. It’s too late. The biggest Atlanta lead reaches 44, and the final frame mostly serves as a reminder of how completely the game was decided by halftime.

This one matters less for a single late-game moment than for what it says about Atlanta’s ceiling when the shot-making arrives early. A 146-point night with 71 in the first half is the kind of offensive explosion that can warp a matchup, and if the Hawks keep generating this level of spacing and secondary playmaking, they’re a dangerous team for anyone trying to slow them down in a crowded playoff race. Memphis, meanwhile, leaves with a lopsided loss and another reminder that when the defense cracks against elite pace and shooting, the margin can disappear fast.