Atlanta needed to win tonight against an undermanned New Orleans Pelicans team, and they did. After a close first half, Atlanta let the ball go and won comfortably against the Pelicans with 1126:111.

While the Hawks were a banged up team early in the game, the Pelicans had to dig deep into their bench in this game. New Orleans was without Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, and Zion Williamson was ruled out just before start. It became a must-win for Atlanta and they responded.

Jalen Johnson was the star of the game for Atlanta tonight. With 29 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on 12:20 shooting, he was on the verge of a triple double. One of the themes tonight was the Hawks' dominance of the team, and Johnson did his damage there.

It was a typical Trae Young performance. He finished the game with 23 points and 12 assists and made five three-pointers. When the Hawks pulled away in the third quarter, Young led the way on offense.

Dyson Daniels returned to the starting lineup tonight and finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists. Daniels was missed from the lineup and his return is huge for Atlanta.

Zaccharie Risacher continued to have trouble shooting the ball from three-point position, but like most of the year, he found other ways to impact the game. He finished the game with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Onyeka Okongwu was missing for Atlanta tonight, but the luxury of having Larry Nance plays a role here. Nance was great off the bench, scoring 14 points and six rebounds and playing center most of the time tonight. Clint Capela finished the game with eight points and four rebounds in nearly 21 minutes.

David Roddy, Garrison Matthews and Keaton Wallace were the other substitutes in the game for Atlanta. Matthews had a great second quarter but later ran into foul trouble and finished the game with 11 points.

Yes, the Pelicans were extremely undermanned, but the Hawks were also unlucky with injuries and desperately needed a win. They play two games in a row tomorrow and the opponent is none other than the Boston Celtics. The Celtics looked dominant early in the year and the Hawks will have to play a near-perfect game to beat them.

Let's review today's victory.

Tonight the Hawks started Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Clint Capela.

New Orleans started Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, Brandon Ingram, Javonte Green and Yves Missi.

The Hawks started really well defensively against New Orleans. The Pelicans didn't score in the first three minutes of the game, and at the first timeout with 7:04 remaining, the Hawks led 13-4. New Orleans is 2-10 from the floor. Risacher led the Hawks early with five points and four rebounds.

Atlanta entered tonight against New Orleans with a nine-man rotation. Garrison Matthews, Larry Nance, Keaton Wallace and David Roddy made up the Hawks' bench tonight. Coming into the game, Atlanta appeared on paper to have a clear advantage over the Pelicans bench-wise, but New Orleans' bench was one of the stories of the first half.

New Orleans got going late in the quarter and finished well offensively. Ingram led the Pelicans with 10 points and the Hawks only led 33-30 at the end of the first period. Risacher finished the first quarter with nine points and four rebounds, while Johnson had seven points. After a difficult start to the quarter, the Pelicans finished the game 8:14.

In the second quarter, the Hawks offense struggled and the Pelicans took advantage, and it wasn't just Ingram alone. As mentioned, the Pelicans' bench was huge in the first half. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Brandon Boston and Daniel Theis combined for 13 points in the quarter, tying the game with 5:51 left in the first half. What was remarkable about the first half was that Trae Young was unable to play for a long time. He has played more than 40 minutes in the last two games and with a game against Boston coming up on Monday night, he needed a longer break in the first game.

While the Pelicans got off to a great start in the second quarter, Atlanta used a 13-3 run to regain the lead. Matthews had a great second quarter, scoring 11 points. Thanks to a buzzer-beater from Jose Alvarado, New Orleans was able to regain the lead at halftime at 59-58.

Atlanta shot 46% from the field and 33% from three in the first half. New Orleans shot 45% from the field and 50% from three. Three-point defense and shooting have been issues this season, and that was the case even against an undermanned Pelicans team.

Johnson led the Hawks with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Ingram had 16 points, leading New Orleans. The Pelicans' bench had 25 points in the first half.

The Hawks ran away from New Orleans in the second half. They opened with a 7-0 run and then scored eight of their first ten shots. They quickly gained an 83:71 lead and started the quarter with a 25:12 lead. Young led the way offensively with six points and six assists.

Atlanta shot 79% from the field and 67% from three-point range in the third quarter, while New Orleans shot just 36% from the floor and 33% from three. Jordan Hawkins and Brandon Ingram combined for 19 of the Pelicans' 26 points in the third quarter.

Jalen Johnson led the way in the fourth quarter as the Hawks held off the Pelicans. He dominated inside and the Hawks defense slowed down the Pelicans, who had limited offensive options tonight. Atlanta quickly increased its lead to double digits in the quarter and never looked back. Johnson scored 11 of his 29 points in the final quarter and the Hawks shot 61%. They've struggled in the second half of games this season, but tonight they did what they had to.

This win moves Atlanta to 3-4 and now faces a challenging matchup. The Boston Celtics will be at State Farm Arena tomorrow night and the defending champions are 6-1 to start the season.