Top pick Zaccharie Risacher had the best night of his career with the Hawks’ win

ATLANTA – When asked what it was like to play four NBA games in six days, rookie Zaccharie Risacher answered succinctly:

“I’m tired.”

Risacher should have been exhausted after having the biggest night of his young career in the Atlanta Hawks’ 121-116 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. He filled the box score with 33 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots. The 33 points are the most scored by a rookie this season and significantly exceed his season high of 17 points.

According to ESPN Research, the 19-year-old Risacher joined Victor Wembanyama, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Lamar Odom as the only players to have 30 points and multiple blocks and steals in a game before turning 20. Risacher is the only one of these players who is said to have had five 3-point shots.

Risacher, the No. 1 draft pick this year, has started the last seven games following De’Andre Hunter’s knee injury and has had mixed results so far. Entering the game, he was shooting 21.1% from 3-point range and 32.9% from the floor. Hawks coach Quin Snyder encouraged Risacher to continue shooting through his ups and downs.

“He basically tells me to shoot the damn ball,” Risacher said. “It doesn’t just come from him. That comes from all the coaches and my teammates. This boosts my confidence.”

Risacher sank 6 of 10 3-pointers and was 11 of 18 from the field. He was 5 of 7 from distance in the first half alone. Risacher also showed off his driving skills, once finishing off a charge from the corner with a left-handed floater in the lane.

Risacher scored a game-winning basket late, tying the score to 110-110 with 1:31 to play. With Trae Young double-teamed, Risacher cut to the foul line, intercepted a pass from Young and fired the ball into the lane.

“We practiced that,” Young said. “He went to the middle. I knew where to find him, and he knew if (Karl-Anthony Towns) didn’t step up, he had to turn around and score. And when he did, Clint (Capela) was behind him to catch the ball.” Praise. Zac made a great play.

After the game, Snyder said the players were excited to see Risacher in the locker room because they understand how difficult the first few weeks and months at the start of an NBA career can be.

“I was really happy to see how people reacted to me being good,” Risacher said.

Risacher now leads all rookies with 12 points per game and increased his 3-point shooting percentage to 27%.

“His progression will not be linear,” Snyder said. “He has to stick with it. We have confidence in him whether he makes shots or not. He was really good defensively today too.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.