Zaccharie Risacher delivered the best performance of his young NBA career on Thursday night, scoring 38 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Brooklyn Nets 133-109 at Barclays Center.
The No. 1 overall pick shot 15-of-20 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, as the Hawks improved to 38-42 and remained eighth in the Eastern Conference..
Atlanta never trailed in the game, opening up a 33-14 first-quarter lead and extending it to 69-45 by halftime, with Risacher accounting for 23 of those points in the first two quarters.
The rookie forward has now scored at least 30 points in four games this season, the most among first-year players, and he has hit five or more 3-pointers in each of them.
Trae Young backed Risacher with 24 points and 12 assists, while Dyson Daniels flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, and three steals.
Daniels, who leads the NBA in steals, now has 226 on the season and is being promoted by the Hawks as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Atlanta also received strong contributions from Onyeka Okongwu, who posted 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Terance Mann, who scored 14 off the bench.
The Hawks shot 57.1% as a team and went 15-of-36 from deep, making their first 12 shots of the second quarter—a feat the franchise hadn’t accomplished since February 2023.
Brooklyn dropped to 26-54 with the loss and was officially eliminated from Play-In contention earlier this week.
Jalen Wilson led the Nets with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three, while Tosan Evbuomwan added 18 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Brooklyn was outscored in every quarter except the final frame, where it trimmed the deficit slightly after trailing by as many as 31.
The Nets shot 40% from the field and committed 17 turnovers, leading to 26 points for Atlanta.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, faces an uncertain offseason as it evaluates its roster following a second consecutive losing campaign.
