ATLANTA – Trae Young scored 33 of his 47 points in the first half, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers 131-128.
Atlanta, 10th in the Eastern Conference, had seven players score in double figures and shot 54.8% from the field. Danilo Gallinari and De’Andre Hunter had 15 points apiece, and Kevin Huerter finished with 14.
The Hawks have won 13 of 15 at home and two straight overall. They had a season-high 77 points in the first half.
Tyrese Halliburton and Buddy Hield each scored 25 points for Indiana, which has dropped four of five and 13 of 17. The Pacers, 13th in the East, fell to 8-27 on the road.
Young´s 33 first-half points were a career high for either half. He was coming off his NBA-leading 23rd game of at least 25 points and 10 assists in the win over the Los Angeles Clippers. That´s 10 more than James Harden, the next closest player. He finished with five assists.
Elsewhere, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers brought out the best in the Orlando Magic. Embiid had 35 points and 16 rebounds and the 76ers kept rallying, finally beating Orlando 116-114 in overtime.
Down by 17 points in the first half and trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter, the Sixers were behind 113-109 with 1:25 left in OT. Orlando has the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 18-51.
“This was a big win for us. I know people are like: `Oh, it´s the Orlando Magic.’ But they just beat the Timberwolves the other night and the Timberwolves came back and beat the Miami Heat,” said Georges Niang according to AP,
James Harden hit one of two free throws with 6.7 seconds left in overtime to give Philadelphia a two-point lead. Cole Anthony missed a 3-pointer at the horn for Orlando.
Anthony’s three 3-pointers had put the Magic ahead in the final minutes.
