Zaccharie Risacher scores 18 points in Hawks debut, but Atlanta falls to Washington 94-88 in Summer League opener

It was a very successful first meeting for Atlanta Hawks first-round pick Zaccharie Risacher, but it wasn’t enough to earn Atlanta a victory over the Washington Wizards. It was a highly anticipated showdown between Risacher and second-round pick Alex Sarr and neither player disappointed, showing their skills and ability to create highlight-reel plays.

Risacher finished with 18 points on 7-16 shooting and 3-9 from three-point range, along with five rebounds and two assists. I thought Risacher had a good night overall and his passing was very good tonight. There have been questions about Risacher’s passing throughout the draft process, but he showed some ability in that area tonight, even though it was just a Summer League game.

The rest of the Hawks also had solid nights, but also showed areas of their game that needed work. Second-round pick Nikola Djurisic also showed off his passing chops, but struggled shooting from the field, going 2-7 from the floor and 3-7 from the free throw line. Mouhamed Gueye finished with 18 points and three steals, but shot just 4-13 from the field. Players like Keaton Wallace, Miles Norris and Dylan Windler also had solid nights for the Hawks.

Both offenses struggled tonight, but the Wizards were much better in the second half, which allowed them to pull out the win. Let’s recap the first game in Las Vegas for the Hawks.

Here’s the Hawks’ starting lineup tonight:

G-Nikola Djurisic

G- Zaccharie Risacher

F- Dylan Windler

F- Mouhamed Gueye

C- Rob Baker III

The Hawks started this game strong and that was especially true for Risacher. He scored five of the Hawks’ first seven points and Atlanta took a 12-7 lead. His first basket was very impressive, as he drove into the lane and finished with his left hand. One possession later, he nailed a three-pointer. With Kobe Bufkin out with a shoulder injury, 2024 second-round pick Nikola Djurisic was the Hawks’ point guard tonight and he produced the highlight of the first half, and perhaps the game, with a thunderous dunk in the first quarter.

Despite Risacher’s strong start, the Hawks’ offense struggled in the first quarter, shooting just 38 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range. The good news is that the defense played well, limiting the Wizards to 27 percent from the field and 29 percent from three-point range.

The Hawks’ defense held strong for the first half of the second quarter, but the Wizards were able to find a rhythm to tighten things up. After leading 33-22 with 5:23 left in the second quarter, Washington briefly took the lead before the Hawks took it back to end the half. Atlanta trailed by one, but Djurisic found an open man in the corner for a three-pointer and Atlanta led 42-40 at halftime.

After a strong start to the season, Risacher missed his last three shots of the half and finished with five points, two assists and two rebounds on 2-for-6 shooting. The Hawks shot 33 percent from the field and 26 percent from three-point range in the first half while Washington shot 38 percent from three-point range and 28 percent from three-point range. Gueye was very active in the first half and finished with eight points and three rebounds, although he struggled with foul trouble. Champagnie led the way for Washington with 13 points.

The third quarter was a close game between the two teams and the Wizards took the lead at the end of the game 66-65. Risacher stole the show and made the highlight of the quarter with a huge dunk in transition.

Newcomer EJ Liddell also made plays in the third quarter to keep the Hawks in the game.

The Hawks and Wizards continued to go back and forth and Jarkel Joiner came off the bench to hit a huge three-pointer right over Sarr that gave Atlanta a four-point lead and it looked like they had started to take control.

In the end, the Wizards got the better of the Hawks, with Atlanta failing to find any offense late in the game. Washington came out on top and held off a late Atlanta rally to win the game 94-88. Bub Carrington had a huge night for the Wizards, scoring 19 points and shooting 4-8 from three-point range. Carrington nearly had a triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists. Champagnie scored 18 points and Sarr finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Atlanta will return to action on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs, with the game set to kick off at 8:00 PM EST. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see the continued development of players like Risacher, Djurisic, and Gueye. All three of these guys showed their potential tonight, but also showed that there is still a lot of work to be done as Summer League continues.