Hawks’ balanced scoring too much for Pelicans
FILE — Bogdan Bogdanovic #13 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts following a play during the first quarter of their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on January 09, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/AFP
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 26 points to lead seven Atlanta players in double figures as the Hawks routed the host New Orleans Pelicans 126-103 in a battle of short-handed teams Friday night.
Kevin Huerter added 24 points, Lou Williams scored 19 with eight assists, Clint Capela had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Onyeka Okongwu scored 11 while Tony Snell and Brandon Goodwin scored 10 each for the Hawks, who finished 4-4 on their road trip.
Rookie Kira Lewis Jr. scored a season-high 21 points, James Johnson had 16, Eric Bledsoe had 14, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes added 12 each and Wes Iwundu had 10 to lead the Pelicans, who visit the Hawks again on Tuesday after a road game at Houston Sunday.
Bogdanovic and Lou Will propel the @ATLHawks in NOLA! @LeaderOfHorde: 26 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST@TeamLou23: 19 PTS, 8 AST pic.twitter.com/zjUuckRlid
— NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2021
The Hawks played without Trae Young (knee), John Collins (ankle), De’Andre Hunter (knee) and Danilo Gallinari (Achilles).
The Pelicans played without four starters — Zion Williamson (thumb), Brandon Ingram (toe), Lonzo Ball (hip) and Steven Adams (ankle) — and top reserve Josh Hart (thumb).
Both teams were completing back-to-backs after the Pelicans lost to visiting Orlando 115-110 in overtime and the Hawks won 134-129 in double overtime at San Antonio on Thursday.
The Hawks began the third quarter with a 12-2 run that gave them a 67-56 lead.
The Pelicans scored five straight points before Huerter had five points during a 16-3 run that gave Atlanta an 83-64 lead.
Lewis scored New Orleans’ final five points to cut the Hawks’ lead to 94-79 at the end of the third quarter, but Atlanta maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way.
New Orleans led by as many as seven points four times during the first quarter. Alexander-Walker’s nine points led eight Pelicans scorers and they finished the period with a 34-28 lead.
Atlanta started the second quarter with a 15-6 run and took a 49-45 lead in a back-and-forth period that included seven lead changes and four ties. Okongwu made a layup, and his steal led to Huerter’s layup, which concluded the scoring and gave the Hawks a 55-54 halftime lead.
