The Atlanta Hawks have managed to string together consecutive wins despite being short-handed, with key stars Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis both limited by injuries.
Young is sidelined with a strained MCL, and Porzingis has yet to regain his usual form, but unexpected contributors have stepped up to keep the team competitive.
As reported by Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, third-year forward Mouhamed Gueye delivered a breakout performance in Saturday’s win over the Lakers.
Starting in place of injured regulars, Gueye scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while also recording seven rebounds and seven assists in what was just his second start of the season.
“He’s been hungry,” head coach Quin Snyder said after the game. “He wants to get better. He’s putting the time in. Games like tonight, he gets even more opportunity to do that, obviously, on the floor.”
Although Gueye had a quieter outing in Monday’s matchup against the Clippers, another unlikely hero emerged. Reserve guard Vit Krejci exploded for a career-high 28 points, connecting on eight of his ten three-point attempts.
His late-game heroics – including a banked three-pointer to beat the shot clock with 36 seconds remaining – helped Atlanta secure a hard-fought comeback win.
As Williams noted, both Gueye and Krejci are signed to multiyear minimum-salary contracts, giving the Hawks cost-effective options to retain two promising young contributors.
Eastern Notes: Hawks, Embiid, McConnell, Robinson, Ball https://t.co/XR5cCIUrKt pic.twitter.com/HTfoHdAe6c
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) November 11, 2025
