Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 26 points — 22 in the first half — and the Atlanta Hawks won their 11th straight home game on Monday, a 146-107 victory over the struggling Memphis Grizzlies.
The Hawks are 14-2 since the All-Star break and have won 13 of their last 14 games. Their margin of victory during the home-court winning streak is 19.8 points. Memphis has lost three straight and dropped 11 of its last 12 games.
Atlanta (40-32) solidified its hold on the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks lead No. 7 Philadelphia by one game, No. 8 Orlando by 1 1/2 games and No. 9 Miami by two games after their three closest rivals all lost.
Alexander-Walker was 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-6 on 3-pointers, with six assists. The accuracy from the field was a common thread; the Hawks shot 53.3% from the floor and 46.3% on 3s.
Atlanta also got 16 points from Jonathan Kuminga and Onyeka Okongwu as well as 15 points and nine assists from CJ McCollum. The Hawks played without leading scorer Jalen Johnson (sore left shoulder) for the second straight game.
Memphis (24-47) was led by GG Jackson with 26 points and Tyler Burton, who came off the bench to score 20 points and grab eight rebounds. Ty Jerome scored 17 and Walton Clayton Jr. scored 16, with four 3-pointers.
Alexander-Walker scored 13 points in the first quarter to help the Hawks take a 32-22 lead. They built on the momentum by scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter and built the advantage to 22 points on a 3-pointer by Kispert at 6:39. Kispert had nine points on three 3-pointers in the quarter and Atlanta led 71-46 at intermission.
Atlanta continued to pile up the points. Onyeka Okongwu scored 11 and outscored the Grizzlies 45-29 in the third quarter to take a 116-75 lead.
Atlanta swept the two-game series with Memphis and ended a three-game homecourt losing streak to the Grizzlies.
–Field Level Media
