Atlanta Answers Sacramento’s Push With a Fourth-Quarter Bursts

Sacramento doesn’t go away, but Atlanta owns the final swing. After a first half that sees the Hawks trail by as many as seven and enter the break down 54-66? wait — the scoreboard shows Atlanta actually leading 66-54 at halftime, and that cushion proves crucial when the Kings make their best push late. The game has some real back-and-forth early, with nine lead changes and Sacramento briefly nudging ahead in the opening quarter before Atlanta steadies itself behind a quick 8-0 burst. Z. Risacher knocks down a 25-foot three to help the Hawks seize momentum at 19-14, and from there Atlanta starts finding cleaner looks and better spacing.

The turning point arrives in the second quarter, when Atlanta unleashes a 20-0 run that breaks the game open. It starts at 44-48 and ends at 63-51, with the possession that punctuates it coming on a M. Gueye running alley-oop dunk off a Nickeil Alexander-Walker dime. That play feels like the Hawks finally turn pressure into separation: Alexander-Walker is pushing pace, Jalen Johnson is threading passes, and Atlanta’s offense is flowing with confidence. By halftime, the Hawks have piled up 66 points, and the Kings are suddenly the team chasing the game.

Sacramento does its part to keep things interesting after the break. The Kings chip away in the third, trimming the margin to 88-82 by the end of the period, and then they unleash their best fourth-quarter push. A D. Plowden three helps power a 9-0 run that erases an 89-97 deficit and ties it at 97-97, and for a moment it looks like Atlanta’s cushion might fully evaporate. But the Hawks respond like a team that knows exactly where the game is slipping. The next possession swings everything back. N. Alexander-Walker pulls up for a 24-foot step-back three with the shot clock pressure on, and suddenly Atlanta is back up 108-97. That bucket doesn’t just stop the run — it reasserts control.

From there, Atlanta closes like a team with multiple handlers and multiple answers. DeMar DeRozan keeps Sacramento from fully hanging around with a 22-foot pull-up at 114-103, then Jock Landale buries a three to push it to 117-103. DeRozan answers with a three of his own, but the Hawks keep landing body blows. CJ McCollum drills a 24-footer at 1:37 remaining, Jalen Johnson hits from deep with 26.7 seconds left, and even in the final seconds the ball keeps moving — Johnson finishes with 26 points and 10 assists, while Alexander-Walker ends with 27 points, eight assists, and four steals in a complete two-way performance.

The stat sheet matches the eye test: Atlanta gets star-level creation, efficient secondary scoring, and enough defensive activity in the final minutes to keep Sacramento at arm’s length. Jock Landale’s 19 points and 13 boards give the Hawks a physical edge inside, while CJ McCollum and DeMar DeRozan each add 22 points to keep the offense balanced. Sacramento gets a strong showing from Maxime Raynaud, who posts 18 points and 10 rebounds, and D. Plowden chips in 14, but the Kings never fully recover from that second-quarter avalanche. In a game with enough swings to feel tense for stretches, Atlanta’s decisive stretch in the fourth makes the difference.

For the Hawks, this is the kind of win that matters in the standings and in the room. They protect home court, lean on a deep rotation, and show they can answer when a lead gets trimmed. If this version of Atlanta keeps combining Alexander-Walker’s shot-making, Johnson’s playmaking, and Landale’s physicality, they’re a tough out down the stretch. For Sacramento, it’s another reminder that the margins matter — they had chances to turn the game into a grind, but the Hawks’ firepower and a timely 11-0-looking response in the fourth kept the Kings from ever getting over the top.