By Adrian Stewart Co
Atlanta Hawks caught fire in the endgame to score a come-from-behind 120-116 victory over Washington Wizards in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Down 116-111 with over a minute remaining, the Hawks converted back-to-back triples from Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins to take a 117-116 lead with 24.6 seconds left.
Following missed conversions from the Wizards, the Hawks completed the turnaround with free throw connections by Solomon Hill and Kevin Huerter.
Trae Young top-scored with 33 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, while Bogdanovic added 20 markers as the Hawks tightened its hold on fifth spot in the Eastern Conference with 39-31 slate.
Collins added 18 points, Clint Capela had double-double 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks, which also defeated the Wizards two days ago, 125-124.
Russell Westbrook had double-double 34 points and 15 assists, Daniel Gafford added 16 markers, while Raul Neto and David Bertans had 14 each as the Bradley Beal-less Wizards dropped to 32-38.
Meanwhile, James Harden looked efficient in his first game in nearly a month as the Brooklyn Nets (46-24) prevailed over the San Antonio Spurs (33-36), 128-116.
Harden had a near triple-double of 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds while also tallying two steals, two blocks and two turnovers in 25 minutes of action for the Nets.
Landry Shamet top-scored with 21 points, Nicholas Claxton and Jeff Green added 18 and 16 markers, respectively, while Kevin Durant and Bruce Brown had 14 each for Brooklyn.
Kevin Love, on the other hand, had his best game of the season as the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-48) pulled off a stunning 102-94 victory over slumping Boston Celtics (35-35).
Love tallied double-double 30 points and 14 rebounds, while Collin Sexton and rookie Isaac Okoro added 28 and 15 markers, respectively, for the Cavaliers.
BOX SCORE:
ATLANTA 120 – Young 33, Bogdanovic 20, Collins 18, Capela 17, Okongwu 11, Huerter 6, Snell 5, Williams 4, Gallinari 4, Hill 2.
WASHINGTON 116 – Westbrook 34, Gafford 16, Neto 14, Bertans 14, Hachimura 11, Hutchison 8, Len 6, Smith 6, Lopez 4, Matthews 3.
Quarterscores: 35-30, 56-59, 83-91, 120-116./ASC, WDJ