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Tag: Zaccharie Risacher

  • Trae Young was back in the Atlanta Hawks starting lineup for 152-150 loss to Chicago Bulls

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    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Atlanta Hawks all-star guard Trae Young was back in the starting lineup on his home court for the first time in two months. And it still didn’t matter. The Hawks lost for the fourth time in their last five games, 152-150, to the Chicago Bulls.

    Despite the loss, Young was able to remind Hawks fans why he has been considered one of the best shooters in the sport during his career, all of which has taken place in Atlanta. With the Hsweks down 133-129, Young returned to the court and put on a shooting display. The Oklahoma kid made three three-pointers and two free throws in the span of six minutes.

    Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker attempts a shot over former Hawks guard Kevin Huerter (13) during the first quarter. Alexander-Walker is averaging over 20 points this season. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    With Atlanta down 152-150 with just under five seconds remaining in the game, Young took the last shot of the game. He missed, but he was back, and for the Hawks, that is going to matter long past this game.

    The Hawks began a two-game set against the Chicago Bulls, and Young was back in the starting lineup after missing Friday’s loss to San Antonio. The tipoff was at 3:30 p.m., a half-hour before the Atlanta Falcons kicked off against the Cardinals in Arizona. The Bulls are scheduled to return to State Farm Arena on Tuesday, December 23, two days before Christmas.

    The Bulls got off to a hot start, going up 21-10 and forcing a Hawks timeout. Over the past couple of weeks, the Hawks have had issues with falling behind early. Atlanta pulled back within three points at 25-22 midway through the quarter when second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher nailed a corner three-pointer in front of the Bulls bench.

    The first quarter would end with the score tied at 38, and Atlanta would get its first lead of the game at the beginning of the second quarter after reserve guard Vit Krejci made consecutive three-pointers. Two Risacher three-pointers gave Atlanta another lead at 50-48 at the eight-minute mark. The Hawks’ bench, especially Nickeil Alexander-Walker (20.7 points per game), will be vital to any playoff push this team makes this season.

    Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (with ball) started his first home game in months on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Chicago guard Josh Giddey, a dark-horse candidate to be selected to his first All-Star Game, is averaging over 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists per game. Giddey had started all 25 games for the Bulls this season, and on Sunday, he was back on the court in Atlanta. The 6-8 guard is a teammate of Hawks guard Dyson Daniels on the Australian National Team.

    Giddey was able to get to the basket during the game, and his layup with 7:13 remaining in the second quarter put Chicago up 54-50. His dunk and three-pointer early in the second half would help keep Chicago in front.

    The teams exchanged leads early in the second quarter before the Bulls went ahead by seven points, 75-68, with a minute to play in the half. That lead would be extended to 10 points, 83-73, at halftime after Huerter hit a three-pointer in front of the Hawks’ bench.

    Young made his first two three-point attempts of the second half. His scoring touch was needed this season as the Hawks lost several close games down the stretch. For the time being, Jalen Johnson, the Hawks’ go-to guy during Young’s absence, and Alexander-Walker were doing their part to keep the game close. Johnson scored on consecutive drives to the rim, while Alexander-Walker hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 102 with 4:50 remaining in the third quarter. Both players were counted on to keep the Hawks competitive while Young was gone, and they more than accomplished that goal.

    Krejci has come a long way during his time in the league with Atlanta. Coming off the bench for the Hawks, he has been a steady contributor this season. Krejci’s three-pointer off an assist from Johnson gave Atlanta a 108-107 lead and forced Bulls head coach Billy Donovan to call a timeout. Chicago would go back in front, 116-115, at the end of the third quarter.

    With Chicago ahead by a score of 119-118, Johnson found Daniels for an easy dunk to give Atlanta a one-point lead. It was his seventh assist of the game. Johnson has six triple-doubles this season, an Atlanta Hawks record.

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • ‘On to the next’: Atlanta Hawks are off for Thanksgiving, back on Fri. vs Cavs

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    The Atlanta Hawks will be off tonight and Thursday night before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at State Farm Arena, where the Hawks are 3-4 this season. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    First-year Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker sat down in front of the reporter’s cameras, voice recorders, and notebooks after practice on Wednesday afternoon. From the look of his body language, the veteran Canadian guard was looking forward to having the next couple of nights off.

    Asked if he was looking forward to having Wednesday and Thursday night off before the Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm Arena on Friday night, Alexander-Walker confirmed what his body was already giving off.

    “For sure,” he said. “You get time to relax, and it’s always good to mix in rest. You feel a lot lighter.”

    Alexander-Walker hasn’t gotten much rest this season, as he has played in 17 of the Hawks’ 19 games. Primarily a starter, Alexander-Walker is averaging 31.6 minutes per game to go along with nearly 19 points, three rebounds, and just over three assists per game.

    He added that it would be good to “get away from the X’s and O’s for a bit.”

    On Tuesday, the Hawks played like they were ready for Thanksgiving break, falling behind by 20 points to the Washington Wizards en route to a 19-point loss to one of the worst teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

    Atlanta, 11-8 overall, is currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and will have a tough string of games coming up. Along with hosting Cleveland, the Hawks will play back-to-back road games at Philadelphia and Detroit on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

    The Hawks will return to Atlanta to host the Denver Nuggets on Friday, December 5, before traveling to the Nation’s Capital to face the Wizards again on Saturday, December 6.

    Second-year Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (above) is averaging 11.7 points per game. He scored 17 points in the Hawks’ loss at Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    On Wednesday, Hawks second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher could be seen working on his three-point shot with coaches. Risacher was coming off screens and catch-and-shoots, trying to get his stroke back. A night earlier in Washington, he scored 17 points during what would be a blowout loss and one of the many mundane regular-season games in the NBA. The game wasn’t meaningless to Risacher, who broke a single-digit scoring streak he had been going through. Risacher scored just five points against the Charlotte Hornets the last time the Hawks were at home last Sunday, and eight points at New Orleans last Saturday. The Hawks won both games, but are a better team when Risacher, who averages 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds per game, and shoots 44.6% from the field, adds his two cents.

    Risacher scored just two points in the Hawks’ loss in San Antonio a week ago.

    The Atlanta Hawks are 3-4 at home this season, but Alexander-Walker understands that the NBA season is indeed a marathon.

    “On to the next,” he said. “You’ve got to learn from your wins and your losses.”

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • ‘This is just game one of 82’: Atlanta Hawks lose home opener by 20

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    The Atlanta Hawks opened the 2025-26 season like they closed the 2024-25 season, with a loss. The Hawks fell to the Toronto Raptors, 138-118, in front of a sellout crowd of 17,800 fans. 

    With five minutes remaining in the game and the Hawks behind by 25 points, that sellout crowd began to start heading towards the exit. The NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint, so Wednesday night’s loss shouldn’t be seen as a sign for the rest of the season. That said, it was as bad a start as one could imagine for a team projected to be better than last season.

    Trae Young (above) scored 22 points during the loss. Eleven of those points were from the free-throw line.
    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    The Hawks took a 2-0 lead and never led the game again. Toronto guard RJ Barrett (game-high 25 points) and forward Scottie Barnes (22 points, six rebounds, and nine assists), arguably the team’s best players, along with veteran forward Brandon Ingram (16 points, nine rebounds), took charge of the game from the beginning. Atlanta couldn’t do anything to stop them.

    The Raptors outrebounded the Hawks by 20 (54-34) and scored 86 of their points in the paint. Toronto is a big team, but a 20-rebound advantage felt more like the Hawks’ lack of effort than the Raptors’ ability. After the game, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said his team would have to do better going forward.

    Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder (above) credited forward Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher for playing hard the entire game. The Hawks were out-rebounded by 20 during the loss. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    “It’s hard to win games like that,” Snyder said. “There are a lot of things we need to clean up, and that’s stating the obvious.” 

    Snyder, Hawks guard Trae Young (5-14 from the floor, 22 points), and forward Jalen Johnson (team-high eight assists, 20 points, and seven rebounds) all said the loss was just one of 82 games and shouldn’t be a sign of the times in Hawks land.

    “Our team is going to be right, trust me,” Young said.

    Johnson, back on the court after a season-ending injury last season, was more straightforward about the loss. “We just got to be better,” he said.

    Johnson couldn’t have played much better. He ran the floor, led the team with seven rebounds, along with first-year Hawk Kristaps Porzingis (20 points), and did everything he could. 

    The two bench players brought in to help the Hawks’ depth, Nickeil Alexander-Walker (2-15 for 10 points) and Luke Kennard (1-5 from three-point land), weren’t much help tonight, but will need to be better if Atlanta is going to make the postseason without the help of a play-in game for the first time in years.

    Bright spot: Zaccharie Risacher scored 16 points and looked comfortable being a part of the Hawks’ offense. During his rookie season last year, he tended to shy away from the ball. Risacher, the runner-up for Rookie of the Year, took 13 shots, six of which were from behind the three-point line. 

    “He’s finding a good balance. You saw him attack the rim in transition,” Snyder said of Risacher. “He’s shooting the ball with confidence, and we need him to keep doing that.” 

    What’s next: The Hawks will travel south to Orlando to play a much-improved Magic squad on Friday, before returning to State Farm Arena to host the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • ‘Definitely looking forward to it’: Atlanta Hawks open preseason in Houston on Monday

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    First-year Atlanta Hawks forward Kristaps Porzingis (right) works on his three-point form during practice on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    The Atlanta Hawks will begin the preseason away from home. The preseason opener will be in Houston on Monday night (8 p.m. tipoff).

    On Sunday morning, the Hawks practiced at the team facility in Brookhaven, putting in some work before heading to Houston.

    Newcomers Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard, and Kristaps Porzingis will play significant roles on this year’s team. On Sunday, Porzingis could be seen knocking down three-pointers during a drill. On the other side of the practice court, Kennard engaged in a three-point shootout with teammates like Vit Krejci, one of the team’s better long-range shooters last season. 

    Asked if they are looking forward to taking those three-pointers into an actual game, Lennard said, “Definitely looking forward to it.”

    “We have been pushing each other hard this last week of training camp. You’re going up against the same guys every day, so we’re excited to be all together as one team and compete as a group,” Kennard said.

    “I’m super-excited to compete wi
    th the new guys, and it’s going to be great. We have a lot of good people around here, and we’re just trying to put it all together,” Hawks reserve guard Vit Krejci (above) said. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Krejci, who has been with the franchise since the 2022-23 season, said it has been a “long offseason” and he was ready to start playing in games again.

    “I’m super-excited to compete with the new guys, and it’s going to be great. We have a lot of good people around here, and we’re just trying to put it all together,” Krejci said.

    Monday night will be the start of a new season for Atlanta.

    “I’m sure it’s going to take a couple of games, a couple of practices, but you can see from the start till now that we are getting better and understand each other more as teammates,” said Krejci. 

    The Atlanta Hawks (above) will play the Houston Rockets in a home-and-away this preseason.
    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Last year’s runner-up for NBA Rookie of the Year, Zaccharie Risacher, returns to the court with added confidence and more experience. His role as one of the team’s scoring options will change with the return of Jalen Johnson from injury. And then there’s All-Star guard and the team’s leading scorer and assist man, Trae Young. 

    With one year remaining on his current contract and a player option for $48.9 million for the 2026-27 season, Young will be playing for more than a division title and playoff spot this year. He wasn’t available to talk to the media after practice on Sunday. Young was all smiles while hoisting three-pointers with his teammates when the media was allowed onto the practice floor.

    Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder after practice on Sunday. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said there were certain things any team wanted to accomplish during the preseason and that these next four games were “an opportunity to put different lineups on the floor.”

    The preseason schedule, following the game in Houston, will include a game in Memphis against the Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 11, and a pair of home games against the Miami Heat (Monday, Oct. 13) and the Rockets (Thursday, Oct. 22). 

    The Hawks’ regular season begins at home at State Farm Arena against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Atlanta finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 40-42. It was the eighth consecutive season the Hawks finished with 43 or fewer wins in an individual season.  

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • Trae Young shines in Atlanta Hawks 121-116 victory over New York Knicks

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    Trae Young had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds as his Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks 121-116 win Wednesday night State Farm Arena. It marked his seventh career 20-point, 10-assist game vs. them (regular season and playoffs).

    Head Coach Quin Snyder, Zaccharie Risacher, and Jalen Johnson joined Trae Young at the podium to discuss the victory.

    Risacher, the first overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, admitted to reporters what gave him the confidence ahead of his big 33-point night Wednesday night.

    “He basically tells me to shoot the f—ing ball,” Risacher said. “That’s not just from him. That’s from everybody on the coaching staff and my teammates. It helps with my confidence.”

    Dyson Daniels dunks the basketball during an NBA game between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks inside State Farm Arena on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)

    Risacher is shooting 27% from three-point range this season.

    “I knew it was bound to happen eventually and I know it’s going to continue to happen with the way he’s been playing,” Young said of Risacher. “I struggled my first couple of months into my rookie year, and I was in Rookie of the Year debates in the second half. You’re going to go through ups and downs, especially in your rookie year. I know he wants to win, I know he wants to contribute. I just want him to always stay positive and keep his head on the right path.”

    “His progress isn’t going to be linear,” Snyder said. “He’s got to stay at it. We have confidence in him if he makes shots or he doesn’t. Today, he was really good on the defensive glass, as well.”

    The Hawks will face off against Detroit on Friday. They’ll be back at State Farm Arena Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls.

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  • Atlanta Hawks win season opener 120-116, host Charlotte on Friday

    Atlanta Hawks win season opener 120-116, host Charlotte on Friday

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    The Atlanta Hawks will host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Hawks

    The Atlanta Hawks were back at State Farm Arena for the season opener against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

    Atlanta won the game 120-116 behind 30 points from Trae Young, 28 points from backup center Onyeka Okongwu, and 15 points from former New Orleans Pelican forward Dyson Daniels. The Hawks had their highest scoring quarter (37 points) when it counted the most: during the fourth quarter.

    Atlanta got off to a strong start, pulling ahead by nine points early in the first quarter before the Nets tied the game at 15 at the 4:51 mark. Okongwu led the way during the first half with 14 points and five rebounds. Okongwu scored several of his points on huge put-back dunks that brought the crowd to its feet.

    Though he had nine points during the first half, Young began the game 2-6 from the field. Nets forward Ben Simmons, who often had his best games against the Hawks early in his career as a Philadelphia 76er, nearly had a triple-double at halftime with 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Nets managed to go into halftime with a 55-51 lead.

    East Atlanta’s own Gucci Mane performed at halftime. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Atlanta will host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. The Hornets opened the season with a 110-105 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

    News and Notes:

    Gucci Mane performed at halftime.

    Hawks rookie and the league’s overall number one pick in this summer’s draft Zaccharie Risacher scored the first basket of his career on a three-pointer late in the first quarter.

    Wednesday was the first regular season game as a Nets assistant coach for Juwon Howard, the former head men’s basketball coach at the Univeristy of Michigan.


    Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Donnell began his career covering sports and news in Atlanta nearly two decades ago. Since then he has written for Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Southern Cross…
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