Trae Young drained a pair of go-ahead free throws with 21 seconds left on Friday, helping the visiting Atlanta Hawks rally for a 111-107 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Young had 25 points and six assists for Atlanta, which trailed by as many as 14 points before outscoring Orlando 33-21 in the fourth quarter. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 19 points, while Onyeka Okongwu chipped in 17 for the Hawks, who won despite shooting 27.6% (8-for-29) on 3-pointers. Mouhamed Gueye scored 13 points and Jalen Johnson totaled 12 in the comeback win.
Franz Wagner led Orlando with 27 points, followed by Tristan da Silva’s and Desmond Bane’s 15 points apiece. Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero each chipped in 11 points, while Wendell Carter Jr. scored 10 for the Magic.
After Young’s foul shots broke a 107-107 tie, Banchero missed a 3-pointer, which was rebounded by Gueye. Young then drilled two more free throws with a second left to seal the win.
Trailing by 10 at halftime, Atlanta cut its deficit to four with 1:01 left in third following a 7-0 spurt. Gueye hit a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper followed by Young’s layup, cutting the Hawks’ deficit to 82-78.
The Magic finished the quarter with four straight points, taking an eight-point edge into the fourth.
Wagner’s layup pushed the Orlando lead to 12 with 9:13 remaining in the fourth. Atlanta answered with a 12-0 run — including rookie Asa Newell’s 3-pointer and game-tying dunk — to knot the score at 93 and force a Magic timeout with 6:33 left.
The Hawks’ run was pushed to 15 straight, as Young’s triple gave the Hawks their first lead since the beginning of the second quarter.
Okongwu’s personal 5-0 run gave the Hawks a 103-98 lead with 3:20 left. Orlando tied the game at 105 with Carter’s three free throws and Banchero’s dunk. Young’s floater with 46 seconds left was followed by Suggs’ layup eight seconds later.
Orlando took a 51-37 lead on Bane’s transition 3-pointer with 4:31 left in the second quarter. It wasn’t until the 3:47 mark of the quarter that the Hawks made their second triple, as Alexander-Walker sank a 3-pointer to cut the deficit 11.
Young’s reverse layup trimmed Orlando’s lead to eight, before Wagner made a putback to give the Magic a 61-51 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
