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Aaron Wiggins Says Hawks' Ball Movement Makes It 'Pretty Easy' After 20-Point Night
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- Aaron Wiggins Says Hawks' Ball Movement Makes It 'Pretty Easy' After 20-Point Night
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Aaron Wiggins had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists off the bench Thursday night as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-111 at State Farm Arena. He shot 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range in 23:55.
He was plus-17. Atlanta had listed him as questionable Tuesday with a left knee contusion before upgrading him to probable for Wednesday's game against Miami.
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Wiggins said transition and dribble handoffs create a lot of advantages in Atlanta's system, for him and for Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
"It's been pretty easy because I think we're doing a pretty good job of moving the ball and working possessions to kind of get really good shots," Wiggins said. "So it makes it easy because we're getting the defense kind of moved around and creating advantages for guys. And then we're doing a really good job crashing. I think crashing gives us some second chances and opportunities to find open threes and cuts. And that gives a lot more scoring opportunities."
How Wiggins Got to 20
His first basket was a 5-foot floater off a Kingston Flemings pass with 1:50 left in the first quarter. Eight more points followed in the second, on 3-of-6 shooting. Flemings set up his 3-pointer at 7:34, and CJ McCollum found him for another at 5:52 that cut Cleveland's lead to 35-30. He also blocked a Jarrett Allen layup in that quarter.
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With 4:14 left in the third, Wiggins hit a 24-foot pull-up from Onyeka Okongwu for a 76-69 lead. In the fourth, he scored on a putback 32 seconds in and made a 25-footer from Luguentz Dort at 9:08 for a 97-86 lead. He also threw the pass on Jalen Johnson's transition 3-pointer that made it 106-96.
Atlanta finished with 15 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points. Wiggins had one of the offensive rebounds, on the putback.
Trade From Oklahoma City
The Hawks acquired Wiggins from the Oklahoma City Thunder on July 6 for second-round picks in 2030 and 2032. He was the 55th pick in the 2021 draft and spent five seasons with the Thunder, winning a championship in 2025.
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Last season, he appeared in 65 games with 21 starts, averaging 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 21.8 minutes. He made his 100th career start April 12 against Phoenix, becoming the third player from the second round of the 2021 draft to reach 100 starts, after Herb Jones and Ayo Dosunmu. Across three postseason runs, he has played in 45 playoff games.
Wiggins gets to contribute in different ways in Atlanta and get different looks.
"Respectfully, the team I was on last year was a really, really good team," Wiggins explained. "Very deep team. So no shots towards those guys over there. But it's awesome just kind of being able to come in here and have a little bit of an opportunity to contribute in different ways and get different looks.
"The guys are, they play together and we pass the ball really well," Wiggins continued. "And that makes it easy for, I think, a lot of us to have scoring opportunities or just chances to impact the game at a high level. So I've enjoyed it to this point and I continue to look forward to it."
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Off the Bench in Atlanta
Wiggins came off the bench in each of Atlanta's first four games. He scored 16 points in the season opener at Orlando , 19 at Charlotte two nights later, and 16 in Saturday's home opener against Houston. On Monday at Houston, he had 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 26:39.
Many of the same things Alexander-Walker does off screens, handoffs, and pick-and-roll are in Wiggins' game too, Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.
"I think it's certainly the productivity that you just mentioned," Snyder said. "To me, a lot of it is the way that he's going about it. I think he's letting the game come to him, and that doesn't mean don't be aggressive either. I think he's just got a real poise about him on the offensive end, and it has a settling effect, I think, on his teammates too. It looks like he's having fun playing the game."
Okongwu led Atlanta with 29 points and 12 rebounds Thursday, and Alexander-Walker scored 25.
Atlanta's next game is Saturday at 7 p.m. ET against the New Orleans Pelicans.
