Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson made history on Thursday night, posting a stat line that has never been seen before in the NBA.
Johnson’s 31 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists and 7 steals during a 132-122 win over the Utah Jazz were career highs and helped the Hawks to a fourth straight win.
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The Hawks were playing without Trae Young, who was out with a knee injury, and Kristaps Porziņģis, who missed the game due to maintenence.
Young enjoyed the show put on by the 2021 first-round draft pick out of Duke.
Forward Onyeka Okongwu also had a good night with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks.
The stat lines from Okongwu and Johnson made them the second teammates in franchise history to record a 30-point triple-double and 30-point double-double in the same game. The other pair? Joe Caldwell and Lenny Wilkens, who did it in October 1967, according to the Hawks. Johnson also became the first NBA player since Chris Paul in January 2009 to record a 30-point, seven-steal game.
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The win helped Atlanta to improve to 8-5 as it sits atop the Southeast Division, a half game ahead of the Miami Heat. It’s a good start for a Hawks team that has missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and has not advanced out of the first round since reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.