NBA: Hawks top Jalen Green, Rockets to clinch No. 9 in East
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks controls the ball during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on April 10, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Trae Young and Clint Capela recorded double-doubles while Danilo Gallinari added 26 points Sunday as the Atlanta Hawks secured the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with a 130-114, season-ending road victory over the Houston Rockets.
The Hawks (43-39) closed the season with seven wins in nine games and will host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday in the second of two play-in games in the East. The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers won Sunday to clinch the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively.
Article continues after this advertisementYoung paired 28 points with 11 assists for his 42nd points/assists double-double, tied with Mookie Blaylock (1993-94) for the most in a season in franchise history.
Another Trae triple pic.twitter.com/WCMpoftX79
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 10, 2022
Capela added 18 points and 13 rebounds while Gallinari finished 6-for-8 on 3-pointers as the Hawks shot 55.3 percent (21 for 38) from behind the arc. De’Andre Hunter (22 points) was 4 for 4 on 3-pointers while Bogdan Bogdanovic and Young combined to shoot 8 for 16 from long range. Atlanta shot 51.7 percent from the field overall.
Article continues after this advertisementRookie guard Jalen Green led Houston with a career-high 41 points, his sixth 30-point game in the past seven contests. Kevin Porter Jr. tallied 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Rockets (20-62) closed the season on a seven-game skid to secure the worst record in the league for the second consecutive season. Houston will select no lower than fifth in the upcoming draft.
The Hawks raced to a 17-point, first-quarter lead behind Capela’s 10 points in the frame. Atlanta rounded out its scoring attack by the intermission as all five scorers reached double figures, paced by Gallinari (18 points).
Young had a relatively quiet first quarter but gained momentum in the second with 11 points and three assists in the frame.
Houston sliced what was a 19-point deficit to seven points early in the third quarter, only for Young to convert a second-chance basket before Hunter added back-to-back 3s.
When the Rockets closed to 88-82 later in the period, Capela followed a pair of free throws with a second-chance basket before Bogdanovic hit a 3 that helped Atlanta reclaim control.
