Young scores 35 points, Hawks rally to beat Cavaliers 121-118 | Health


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By BRIAN DULIK – Associated Press

CLEVELAND (AP) – Trae Young scored 35 points, Clint Capela had 18 points and 23 rebounds, a season-high, and the Atlanta Hawks recovered from a 16-point deficit for a 121-118 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night.

Young made a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds left after Cleveland came close to 119-118 on a Brandon Goodwin layup. Kevin Pangos’ 3-point equalizer on the buzzer was irrelevant.

Atlanta ended a three-game losing streak despite having 12 players in NBA health and safety protocols, including forward John Collins and snipers Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter. The Hawks also lost Cam Reddish in the first quarter with a sprained right ankle.

“We’re just a few of our full roster on this team, but we’re really trying to find ways to win,” Young said. “It was a great way to end the year. We had a lot of success in 2021 and we hope to have even more success in 2022. ”

Kevin Love scored 35 points, a season-high, and 11 rebounds for Cleveland, and Jarrett Allen had 21 points and eight rebounds. The Cavaliers lost their third straight game and their longest home winning streak of the season ended at five.

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“We were complacent because we had a lead, but you have to understand that there are some winners out there who just made it to the Eastern Conference final,” said Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff. “We let our guard down and he came back to bite us. “

Young, who also distributed 11 assists, drained a 3-point pointer with 1:53 remaining to give Atlanta their biggest advantage at 119-111. Skylar Mays added 19 points and Lou Williams scored 14 points off the bench for the Hawks, who are 1-1 on a six-game trip that ends Jan. 9 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Clint and Trae set the tone in practice yesterday and they did it again tonight,” said Atlanta coach Nate McMillan. “It was a challenge for them to show that we are better than what we played at.”

Cleveland was leading 60-44 at the end of the second quarter, backed by Allen coming out of COVID protocols after missing four games. Rookie Evan Mobley had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Goodwin had 13 points in his debut for the Cavaliers.

The Hawks roared in the third, beating Cleveland 40-22 behind 12 points and seven assists from Young, and eight points and nine rebounds from Capela. Young definitely put them ahead at 87-86 with a 3-point score.

“These games are just grind games so we knew we had to stay the course,” Capela said. “We had to expose their weaknesses in finding our guys, like Trae, for open shots.”

Cleveland went 8 of 14 from the foul line to the fourth, when Young and Williams combined to go 8 of 8 for Atlanta.

The Hawks set a franchise record with two turnovers, becoming the sixth team in NBA history to do so in a game. The league record is for Denver against Portland on February 23, 2021.

G League manager Clare Aubry became the 14th woman to officiate an NBA game and was one of three managers to make her debut on Friday due to widespread illnesses among full-time staff members.

The Cavaliers have agreed to acquire four-time all-star goalie Rajon Rondo from the Lakers in exchange for Denzel Valentine, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. Rondo has averaged 3.1 points and 3.7 assists in 18 games for Los Angeles, but is currently on COVID-19 protocols.

Cavs goaltender Ricky Rubio suffered a left ACL tear in New Orleans on Tuesday, leaving Cleveland in need of a veteran playmaker. Goalkeeper Collin Sexton is also out for the season after tearing cartilage in his left knee on November 7 in New York City.

“Rondo has a Boston Championship pedigree so having him around will be huge,” Love said. “A lot of us still have an emotional hangover from losing Ricky.”

Hawks: Young leads the NBA with 17 double double points / assists and 12 games of at least 25 points and 10 assists this season. … McMillan has 704 career wins, three less than John MacLeod for 18th place all-time. … Atlanta was scheduled to host Cleveland on December 19, but the game has been postponed due to the Hawks’ ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. … Atlanta has 26 players under contract.

Cavaliers: Goodwin signed a 10-day contract via a hardship exception and was the first player to leave the bench. He had six assists in 25 minutes. … F Justin Anderson and C Luke Kornet did not resign after their 10 day contracts expired, while F Tre Scott was released from his pact with one day remaining. … Cleveland has played 234 games against the Hawks, its most against any opponent.

Hawks: Visit Portland Monday night.

Cavaliers: welcome Indiana Sunday night.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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