Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder believes fifth-year forward Jalen Johnson is still a work in progress. If he\u2019s right, it\u2019s a terrifying prospect for opponents….<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON(AP) \u2014 Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder believes fifth-year forward Jalen Johnson is still a work in progress. If he\u2019s right, it\u2019s a terrifying prospect for opponents.<\/p>\n
Johnson continued his emergence with his second triple-double in two nights Saturday, finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a 131-116 win over the Washington Wizards.<\/p>\n
It was his fourth of a season in which every one of those performances has been needed as the Hawks manage without four-time All-Star Trae Young, who has been out since late October with a sprained right MCL.<\/p>\n
Johnson is averaging 23.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists, all significant improvements from a 2024-25 campaign that was easily his best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s reflective of a guy that\u2019s done a lot of work that we need to make a lot of plays for us,\u201d Snyder said of Johnson. \u201cThe triple-doubles, like the statistics, are great. But he wants to win and there\u2019s more there. He can continue to become more efficient, because we need him to be that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Friday and Saturday\u2019s performances were historic.<\/p>\n
In Friday\u2019s 134-133 home loss to Denver, he recorded the second-fastest triple-double in NBA history<\/a>, reaching the threshold in only 16:44. (Denver\u2019s Nikola Jokic holds the record of 14 minutes, 33 seconds.)<\/p>\n Saturday, he became only the second Hawks player ever with triple-doubles on both ends of a back-to-back, after Bob Sura did it on April 9 and 10, 2004<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday was cool, but tonight was more important because we got the win,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSo I think that\u2019s what makes it better. But it was just a great group effort and like I said before, it\u2019s just a product of my teammates hitting shots and everybody making the game much easier for me.\u201d<\/p>\n