Keaton Wallace’s triple-double helped propel the Atlanta Hawks past the Orlando Magic 117-105 at State Farm Arena Sunday afternoon. Even though the outcome of the game had no effect on playoff positioning, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder emphasized Wallace was not hunting for stats at all tonight. He was playing within the flow of the offense.“When you see a group come out and attack collectively, good things happen,” Snyder said. “And that’s what I felt. And it didn’t feel like he was hunting anything or doing anything extraordinary. He just fell into it.”Daeqwon Plowden attempts a layup during an NBA game between the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)Wallace has been the back-up point guard for most of the season. Tonight, with Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, and Caris LeVert not in the line-up, Wallace was going to be the primary ball handler. He acknowledged plenty of things went his way, but he kept the main thing, the main thing. “I knew it was going to be our last game of the season, my last game this season,” Wallace admitted. “I just wanted to go out, play hard, make sure we were playing the right way, and get a dub.”The only other Hawk to notch a triple-double this season was Jalen Johnson (11/12/2024 at Boston). Playing through adversitySnyder praises the team’s determination despite the changes to the roster. The team traded away DeAndre Hunter and Bogdan Bodganovic. Also, center Clint Capela was relegated to the bench. Add the insertions of George Niang, Caris LeVert, and Terence Mann, the Hawks managed to win 40 games. “You guys know how many games we’re supposed to win this year. You factor Jalen Johnson out of that, and seven guys earlier this year, what this group has accomplished is pretty impressive. To finish the season with 40 wins, given the change and the adversity that they’ve gone through, and it goes to their development. And it goes to their determination and their ability to take adversity and turn it into opportunity.”“So I think just from where we started, and with the development we had, guys got a lot better,” said Hawks forward Vít Krejčí. “You can see that on the paper, and you can see it on the court.”Looking AheadCrystal Renee Hayslett poses for photos during an NBA game between the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo: Itoro N. Umontuen/The Atlanta Voice)Atlanta (40-42) has won four of its last five games as the team makes an appearance in the play-in tournament for the fourth straight year. The Hawks advanced out of the play-in in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, they were eliminated after losing to the Chicago Bulls. For the Hawks to have any chance of getting into the playoffs, one of their biggest keys is limiting bad shots.“I think in a playoff situation, the game can slow down, and the key is to generate good shots,” Snyder said. “There’s shots for us that are good shots, and there are shots for another team that are good shots. And you know, that’s where the efficiency lies.”If the Hawks beat Orlando Tuesday, they will advance to the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics. If the Hawks lose to Orlando, they will host another play-in game against the winner of the matchup between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls. In that scenario, if the Hawks were to win that matchup, they would face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.The post Keaton Wallace’s triple-double leads Atlanta Hawks to victory over Orlando Magic appeared first on The Atlanta Voice. ...read more read less