Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson help Hawks extend win streak

Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) brings the ball up the floor against the Orlando Magic during the second half at State Farm Arena. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson help Hawks extend historic win streak

By Mike J. Asti | Last updated Mar 16, 2026 10:06 PM ET

After enduring an up-and-down season that started off with high expectations, the Atlanta Hawks have put together a recent streak that has some believing they can make a run once again.

On Monday, Atlanta's 124-112 win over the Orlando Magic made franchise history. The Hawks' win was their 10th in a row, creating the franchise's longest win streak since the 2014-15 season and putting the current team only five shy of the longest in franchise history.

Led by a monster performance from Nickeil Alexander-Walker and a triple-double from Jalen Johnson, the Hawks moved to the No. 8 position in the Eastern Conference standings and are only 1.5 games away from avoiding the play-in tournament as the sixth seed.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker had a career night

Alexander-Walker put up a career-high 41 points, connecting on 12-of-21 shots from the field and sinking nine three-pointers. He was extremely efficient, posting a 57.1% from the field and a 64.3% from long range, and even recorded seven rebounds and five assists as well.

41 POINTS

9 THREES

NAWWWWWWWWWW pic.twitter.com/RqjuuP2x9X
— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 17, 2026

Jalen Johnson showed why he's been the Hawks' team MVP

As for Johnson, Atlanta's clear team MVP this season, he scored 24 points in 37 minutes and also added 15 rebounds and 13 assists to complete his East-leading 13th triple-double of the season.

He showed why he's been the driving force of a new era for the Hawks since trading the previous face of the franchise, Trae Young, earlier in the season.

JJ's 13th triple-double of the season, most in the East

24 PTS
15 REB
13 AST pic.twitter.com/nA5tRN1a5D
— Atlanta HaWWWWWWWWWWks (@ATLHawks) March 17, 2026

Johnson has reached or exceeded 20 points in six straight games, highlighted by a 35-point outburst in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 7. He's even flirting with averaging a triple-double for the entire season - he's averaging 23.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game through 61 games so far.

And with the Hawks just three wins away from matching their entire 2024-25 total (40) in mid-March, 2025-26 will go down as a success no matter how it ends.

Mike J. Asti

Mike Asti is an experienced media personality and journalist with a vast resume and skillset, most notably from time with TribLIVE Radio and WPXI-TV. Asti now serves as the Managing Editor of WV Sports Now, where he leads the coverage of WVU sports. He has also covered the Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and other teams within the Pittsburgh market

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