Eleven in a row. The Atlanta Hawks aren’t just on a winning streak — they’re making a statement, and Wednesday night in Dallas was the latest chapter.
The Hawks dismantled the Dallas Mavericks 135-120 on March 19, 2026, claiming their 11th consecutive victory and firmly planting themselves in the Eastern Conference play-in conversation. It’s the kind of run that turns heads in front offices and makes opponents quietly dread checking the schedule. Atlanta, once written off as a middle-of-the-pack afterthought, is suddenly very much alive. ESPN covered the full scope of the blowout.
McCollum and Alexander-Walker Carry the Load
It wasn’t a one-man show. CJ McCollum poured in 24 points, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 22 of his own — a one-two punch that Dallas simply had no answer for. The Las Vegas Sun noted the duo’s combined effort was the engine behind Atlanta’s dominant offensive night. That’s 46 points from two players who, not long ago, were considered complementary pieces. Now? They’re closing games.
Atlanta improves to 38-31 on the season. That’s a record that matters — not just aesthetically, but practically. The play-in window is right there, and the Hawks know it. Every win at this stage feels a little more loaded than the last.
Dallas in Freefall
How bad is it in Dallas right now? The Mavericks have dropped 11 of their last 13 games, sitting at a bleak 23-47. That’s not a slump. That’s a collapse. ESPN’s game page laid out the brutal numbers — a franchise that entered this season with playoff aspirations now watching the standings from a very uncomfortable distance.
Still, not everything in Big D is doom and gloom. Cooper Flagg — the highly touted young forward — continued to flash genuine promise even in the wreckage of a lopsided loss. He finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, a quietly impressive line that suggests the kid belongs, even if the team around him is struggling to find footing. As one highlight reel showed, Flagg’s instincts on both ends of the floor are already ahead of where most rookies are at this stage.
The Bigger Picture
That said, individual bright spots only go so far when you’re losing at this rate. Dallas’s front office faces a real reckoning as the season winds down — how much of this is growing pains, and how much is structural? The answers won’t come easy, and they certainly didn’t come Wednesday night.
For Atlanta, though, the mood couldn’t be more different. Eleven straight wins carry a kind of momentum that’s hard to manufacture and even harder to stop. Video highlights from the game captured what’s becoming a familiar sight — Hawks players celebrating in a visiting locker room, adding another tally to a streak that’s starting to feel like something real.
The play-in isn’t a given. Nothing in the NBA ever is. But the Hawks aren’t just hoping to sneak in anymore — they’re arriving with force, and eleven wins deep, you’d be foolish to bet against them.
