It’s as scary a fall as you are ever going to see on a basketball court: Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher had a breakaway dunk at full speed, tried to hang on the rim and swing to slow his momentum, but lost his grip, flipped and landed hard on his hip.
Zaccharie Risacher injury 😭 pic.twitter.com/6rPHRg7RbX
— Eric Yu (@Eric35_Yu) November 17, 2025
Risacher did not return to the game with what the team called a hip contusion, but he did walk off the court under his own power, which is a positive sign.
Much of the fallout after the game centered on what happened immediately after the fall. Risacher stayed down, and the officials did not immediately stop play. At Dillon Brooks’ urging, the Suns quickly inbounded the ball and went to the other end to play 5-on-4. While Atlanta coach Quin Snyder yelled at his players to foul, the referees did stop play — and Brooks got in their face about it and got a technical. Which he discussed postgame.
"That needs to get reviewed. Somebody needs to get penalized. Shit I got penalized for calling them out."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 17, 2025
Dillon Brooks on his tech after play continued after Zaccharie Risacher hard fall on dunk in 4th.
"I saw us playing 7 against 5. Emotional refs. They're making calls out… pic.twitter.com/ltY5EMEdhB
Brooks will get fined by the league for those comments. Dillon Brooks was more diplomatic but still unhappy.
Devin Booker on play stoppage after Zaccharie Risacher hard fall in 124-122 Suns loss to Hawks: "I hope he's OK, but the situation is they can't call that play dead when we have advantage numbers. I've never seen it happen before and then give a tech for us calling it out. It's a… pic.twitter.com/NMwBhFufLJ
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 17, 2025
The other thing frustrating the Suns: They blew a 22 point lead and lost. Atlanta closed the game on a 43-19 run — which included 30-15 after the Risacher injury, which the Hawks players said motivated them — and the Hawks got the 124-22 win.
Onyeka Okongwu led the Hawks with 27 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 26, and Jalen Johnson scored 25 with 10 boards. Brooks led the Suns with 37 points.
