NBA: Hawks take down Thunder in high-scoring battle
FILE≠Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP
Trae Young had 33 points and 11 assists to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 137-132 victory over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
The Hawks have won six of their last eight, but snapped a two-game losing streak. The loss was just the third in the last 10 games for the Thunder.
Article continues after this advertisementAtlanta led by 13 with less than six minutes remaining before Oklahoma City made a push, pulling within one in the final minute after Jalen Williams stole the ball from Young and scored with 15.3 seconds left.
But after two John Collins free throws, the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander opted to try to get a quick two. But he missed his first shot and, after grabbing a rebound, missed another before the Hawks grabbed the ball and Dejounte Murray hit a pair of free throws to put the game away.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points on 13-of-22 shooting to lead Oklahoma City. Williams added 24 points and four steals.
Article continues after this advertisementAtlanta’s 137 points were the most scored against the Thunder this season.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was 7 of 11 from the floor, hitting four 3-pointers, to score 20 points for Atlanta, while Collins added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Clint Capela tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds.
One of the Hawks’ biggest pushes came with Young on the bench.
Atlanta scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to stretch its lead to a game-high 15 in less than two minutes.
The game got off to a frenetic pace, with the teams combining for 82 first-quarter points, including a season-high 43 for the Thunder.
Things didn’t slow down much in the second, as the teams combined for 19 points in the final minute to send the game into halftime tied at 77.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored all 10 of Oklahoma City’s points during the final minute to go into halftime with 26 points, a first-half career high.
Young scored all nine of Atlanta’s points in the final minute, going into the break with 22.
