“In my eyes, and I’m not saying this ‘cause I’m biased, but I think he should be rookie of the year,” Hawks guard Trae Young said.
Risacher scored just three points in the first half after knocking down a 3 with 9:51 to play in the first quarter. But he exploded in the third quarter, hitting back-to-back-to-back 3s in the first two minutes. He shot 80% from deep, making 4-of-5 3-point attempts to help get the Hawks out to a 31-point lead when he checked out with 4:35 to play in the third.
“I feel like every game I feel more comfortable,” said Risacher, who finished with 21 points. “I’m able to learn like every possession. Honestly, it’s a new environment., I got great teammates, they helped me a lot on the court and off the court, and I’m just in great conditions to learn.”
2. Last week, Young made a career-high 21 free throws. But Young lit the Hornets up from all over the floor on Tuesday, scoring 31 points, grabbing two rebounds, dishing eight assists and adding three steals for a full-rounded game.
The Hawks guard has been dealing with a shoulder injury after getting bumped on the shoulder.
But Young did not need the free-throw line on Tuesday, though he drew four free-throw attempts.
In his attempt to play aggressively, Young picked up three fouls in the first quarter. After the third, Hawks coach Quin Snyder looked to see if they needed to challenge the call and Young assured him not to. Snyder trusted Young to play with those fouls and the guard did not pick up a foul in the second half.
“I think everybody knows,” Young said. “I don’t usually get that many fouls, so I think that’s something that Quin kind of trusts me. … So that’s kind of what I was telling them, to not challenge it, and also just to let me rock.”
3. Things got chippy in the fourth quarter when Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic committed a hard foul on Dominick Barlow. Nurkic may have gotten Barlow in the head and the 21-year-old did not take too kindly to the shot.
“I blocked him, then he blocked me,” Barlow said. “Because that’s really all that happened. I’m just not gonna let nobody stand over me. That’s all it is. It’s not like, personal or just anything. It’s just competitive nature flowing throughout the game. We’re just competing.”
But Young stepped in to defend his teammate and exchanged words with Nurkic. Barlow then popped up to defend himself against the Hornets center before the Hawks subbed in Onyeka Okongwu.
“Sometimes talking trash comes with the game being competitive, and it is, and it brings the best out of you,” Young said. “So yeah, I definitely wanted to defend Dom. He was on the ground, and (Nurkic) came and looked over him, and you need teammates like that will defend you. So no matter how big I am, I’m going to fight for my teammates.”
4. With the Hawks sweeping the Hornets on Tuesday, the team picked up a trophy for the “BBQ Series/Battle of the South.” The equipment managers of some of the NBA teams have rivalries between them, with trophies handed to the winning franchise.
The Hawks swept the Hornets for the first time since the 2012-13 season and secured the “Pig.”
5. The Hawks gave themselves another bit of cushion with their win. The Magic crept up on them after they snapped the Cavaliers’ 16-game win streak on Sunday. The Hawks now sit one game ahead of the Magic and have a 3 1/2-game lead over the Bulls and Heat.
Stat to know
3 — Onyeka Okongwu had back-to-back games with three steals after recording three in the Hawks’ loss to the Nets Sunday and their win in Charlotte Tuesday.
Quotable
“And I’m gonna keep saying this as you guys keep asking these questions. I’m gonna get a sign that says ‘Zacch’s tough. Zacch competes. Zacch loves to play and Zacch loves to work’.” — Hawks coach Quin Snyder on Zaccharie Risacher closing Tuesday’s game.
Up next
The Hawks have three days off before they face the Warriors on Saturday night at State Farm Arena.
