NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trae Young had 22 points and 12 assists, and the Atlanta Hawks defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 123-105 on Saturday night to extend their winning streak to four games.
Jalen Johnson added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Dejounte Murray scored 20 for the Hawks, who trailed by 10 early in the second half before surging in front with a 30-10 run.
Atlanta’s victory came despite the return of both Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram to New Orleans’ lineup.
The Pelicans won without both former All-Stars on Thursday night against Detroit, but couldn’t keep pace with the high-scoring Hawks.
Williamson scored 25 points, highlighted by his uncontested windmill dunk in the first half. Ingram had 16 and Pelicans rookie Jordan Hawkins hit four 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 15 points.
New Orleans led 63-53 on Williamson’s driving layup early in the third quarter. That’s when Atlanta seized momentum, starting with Young’s driving floater.
Johnson, Murray, De’Andre Hunter and Young each added a 3 during the Hawks’ decisive third-quarter spurt, and Atlanta went up 94-77 on an alley-oop dunk by Onyeka Okongwu, who scored 17 points.
Hawkins gave New Orleans a spark at the end of the period, hitting consecutive 3s to make it 94-83. But the Pelicans struggled to get within 10 the rest of the way.
Clint Capella added 17 points for Atlanta, while CJ McCollum and Herb Jones each scored 13 for New Orleans.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Visit Oklahoma City on Monday.
Pelicans: Visit Denver on Monday.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
