October 17, 2026 at 3:59 PM UTC

Postgame Report

Hawks Close Preseason With a 135-111 Rout in Dallas

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Atlanta's starters did their work early and the bench finished it, sending the Hawks into opening week on a four-game preseason run at Dallas's expense.

The Hawks finished their preseason in Dallas on Friday night with a 135-111 win over the Mavericks. Both teams were mostly interested in getting through the evening intact before the 2026-27 opener, and Atlanta did that with far more to show for it. A 24-point margin made it comfortable well before the final minutes.

The rotations were shaped by who was out. Dereck Lively and Santi Aldama were out for Dallas, and Moussa Cisse, who had been in doubt, played four minutes and scored three points. Atlanta was close to full strength and played that way. Jalen Johnson had 20 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 in 27. Aaron Wiggins added 19 off the bench and Jock Landale had 16 points and five assists.

The workloads followed the expected script. Atlanta's starters were done at between 20 and 27 minutes apiece, and the reserves took over the rest of the night. Dallas leaned on Cooper Flagg, who played a game-high 30 minutes and finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Kyrie Irving added 18 points and five assists in 25 minutes, but the Mavericks never found enough around them to stay in it.

The Hawks came in having won three straight, the latest over Oklahoma City, and this made it four. There were two reunions in Dallas. Zaccharie Risacher faced the team that traded him in the deal that sent Luguentz Dort and Ryan Nembhard to Atlanta. He scored 18 points with five rebounds, while Dort had eight points in 23 minutes. Marcus Sasser made his Mavericks debut off the bench and scored five points in 12 minutes. The games count next week.

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