LOS ANGELES – Trae Young has averaged 25.4 points per game over five National Basketball Association seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, including the current campaign, so he clearly knows how to score and win games.
On Wednesday, the point guard poured in 35 points to help the Hawks beat the visiting Sacramento Kings 115-106, ending their seven-game winning streak.
The secret to success, according to Young, is simple.
“We were just playing fast, playing aggressive, getting downhill,” he said on ESPN.
“When we get into the paint, whether we’re scoring in the paint or firing to somebody on the wing or the perimeter, it brings good offence. We were doing a good job of getting in the paint and making plays.”
Young was 11-for-19 from the floor, four-for-seven on three-pointers and nine-for-nine at the free-throw line, along with seven assists. It was his sixth game with 30-plus points this season. One of his three-pointers restored Atlanta’s lead to 11 points with 57 seconds left and put the game away.
Atlanta (11-7) had two players with double-doubles. De’Andre Hunter returned after missing Monday’s game with the flu and produced 13 points and 10 rebounds and Clint Capela had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Dejounte Murray scored 15 despite five-for-16 shooting.
The Hawks have scored 100-plus points in each of their first 18 games, tying the 1973-74 team for the second-longest streak to start a season. They have scored 100-plus in 39 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak in the NBA.
The Kings (10-7), who had not lost since Nov 7 at Golden State, got a season-high 27 points off the bench from Malik Monk, who was 12-for-18 from the floor. De’Aaron Fox scored 18 and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Former Hawk Kevin Huerter scored 13 on his return to Atlanta.
Atlanta shot 56.6 per cent (30-for-53) and set a season high for points in the first half while taking a 72-57 lead.
The Hawks scored 34 points in the paint and led by as many as 19, with Young scoring 17. Monk helped keep the Kings in the game with 15 first-half points.
It was the third straight time Atlanta have beaten Sacramento. The teams complete the two-game season series on Jan 4 in Sacramento.
Kings coach Mike Brown said that his team were dealing with tired legs. “We pressed pretty hard these last couple of weeks,” he said on ESPN. “We weren’t as focused as we’d been going into the game, and it showed, especially in the first half.
“Defensively, Atlanta did a great job of moving bodies, moving ball. They were getting out in transition on our mistakes.
“Give our guys credit, though. They fought in the second half.”
Elsewhere, DeMar DeRozan scored 36 points and the duo of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic each poured in 18 as the Chicago Bulls earned their first regular-season win in Milwaukee since 2017. They beat the Bucks 118-113.
In Boston, Jayson Tatum’s injured ankle looked fine as he scored a team-high 37 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to help the Celtics kick off a six-game homestand with a 125-112 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. REUTERS
