Trae Young pours in 31 as Hawks edge Pelicans
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks drives against Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at the Smoothie King Center on October 27, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images/AFP
Trae Young scored 31 points and John Collins added a double-double as the visiting Atlanta Hawks held off the New Orleans Pelicans 102-99 on Wednesday night.
Collins finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, including a tiebreaking put-back in the final minute. Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter scored 13, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 12.
Devonte’ Graham scored 21 points, Brandon Ingram had 20 points and eight assists and Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans.
Collins’ dunk off an offensive rebound gave the Hawks a 100-98 lead with 55.3 seconds left.
New Orleans’ Herbert Jones was fouled with 50.9 seconds left, but made one and missed one, leaving Atlanta with a one-point lead.
💪 @TheTraeYoung (31 PTS, 7 AST) and the @ATLHawks improve to 3-1. pic.twitter.com/NGOMj2vwlN
— NBA (@NBA) October 28, 2021
The Pelicans had two chances to take the lead, but Graham missed a layup with 10 seconds to go and Ingram missed a jumper with 3.5 seconds left.
Young made two free throws in the final second to seal the outcome.
The Hawks began the third quarter with a 15-6 run, with Young contributing five points and an assist, to grab a 68-65 lead.
Ingram scored eight points in a 43-second span to help the Pelicans take a 73-72 lead.
Delon Wright made a 3-pointer as Atlanta scored the last five points of the third quarter to build an 84-77 advantage.
Graham made three 3-pointers to help New Orleans take a 92-87 lead, but Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer tied the score at 94.
Young made consecutive baskets before Valanciunas and Jones answered with consecutive baskets.
In the early going, Graham, Ingram and Jones sank 3-pointers and Ingram added a three-point play to give the Pelicans a 12-4 lead.
Clint Capela’s dunk pulled the Hawks within 18-15 before New Orleans scored six straight points.
Young’s layup stopped the run, but Trey Murphy III’s 3-pointer started a 9-0 run that helped the Pelicans take a 33-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Atlanta began the second quarter with a 17-6 run to pull within three.
The Hawks closed within one point twice before Graham beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer that pushed New Orleans’ lead to 59-53 at halftime.
