Nickeil Alexander-Walker lifts Hawks to 10th straight win

The Atlanta Hawks knew they were getting a solid shooter and defender when they inked Nickeil Alexander-Walker to a $15.2M contract this summer. They didn't expect they'd be getting a 20 PPG scorer who put up a season-high 41 points against the Orlando Magic in a 124-112 win, the team's 10th straight victory.

Alexander-Walker sank nine three-pointers and had 24 points at halftime as the Hawks took a 17-point lead over their Southeast rivals. The Hawks moved into 8th place, 1.5 games behind the Magic, and clinched their season series by moving to 3-0 against Orlando.

Atlanta Hawks offense becoming a juggernaut

The Hawks have averaged 122.9 points during their 10-game win streak, with Alexander-Walker leading the way with 22.6 PPG. He's shooting 46.7 percent on 8.3 attempts behind the arc, giving the Hawks a badly-needed outside shooting threat.

It's a big improvement and it's been keyed by the Hawks' new starting lineup, where CJ McCollum joined to great success, alongside Dyson Daniels, All-Star Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu, the center who has tripled his three-point volume to two per game while shooting 38.3 percent.

But the real value of the new starting five is that Daniels and Alexander-Walker can both be lockdown defenders. They've also received an injection of energy and athleticism off the bench with new forward Jonathan Kuminga, who returned from injury Monday to provide seven points and eight rebounds.

Atlanta Hawks streak finally moves them up in standings

Due to their own slow start and the stratification of the Eastern Conference standings, the Hawks won their 10th straight game — and finally moved up from ninth place. Barely.

The Hawks were in ninth place when they began their streak Feb. 22. They were still in ninth place going into Monday's game, though the game brought them into a tie with the Philadelphia 76ers at 37-31. But now they have a real shot at avoiding the play-in, with five Eastern Conference teams within 1.5 games of each other from fifth to ninth.

With Alexander-Walker shooting this well, the Hawks offense has gotten even better since trading away Trae Young. It's turned them from a play-in team to a squad no one wants to face in the first round.