The Atlanta Hawks have gone from fighting to get into the NBA Play-In round to looking to slide into the top 6 in the Eastern Conference. On Monday, the Hawks beat the Orlando Magic, 124-112, for their 10th straight victory and are now tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for eighth place in the East.
In their 12-point win over the Magic, former Virginia Tech standout Nickeil Alexander-Walker had quite the night in Atlanta. Playing 10 seconds shy of 37 minutes, Alexander-Walker dropped a career-high 41 points on Orlando, connecting on 12 of his 21 field goal attempts. He was 9-for 14 from behind the arc and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. However, it was what happened as the clock was winding down that got a lot of attention.
Former Virginia Tech standout Nickeil Alexander-Walker breaks an unwritten NBA rule late against the Magic
With the game well in hand with less than 30 seconds remaing, Alexander-Walker got the ball from C.J. McCollum and did what you shouldn't really do, he shot a 3-pointer looking for his 10th of the night. Again, the game was all but settled, and the shot didn't need to be taken.
Orlando took exception to the shot, and a brief postgame skirmish broke out on the court as the game clock expired.
The Hawks led by as much as 20 points over their division rivals and are now becoming one of the teams that nobody is going to want to see when the playoffs begin next month. Alexander-Walker has been great this year for Atlanta. He made a game-winning shot against the Utah Jazz last month and broke out in a win over the Boston Celtics earlier this year after the Hawks were routed at home. Monday night was a huge night for the former Hokie, despite the Magic taking exception to his late-game shot.