Trae Young scored 35 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat visiting Sacramento 115-106 on Wednesday to end the Kings’ seven-game winning streak.
Young was 11-for-19 from the floor, 4-for-7 on 3-pointers and 9-for-9 at the free-throw line, along with seven assists. It was his sixth game with 30-plus points this season. One of his 3-pointers restored Atlanta’s lead to 11 points with 57 seconds left and put the game away.
Young made a rare five-point play in the third quarter. He was fouled on a 3-point basket, made the free throw and made a free throw for the technical foul assessed to De’Aaron Fox. The five-point possession turned a 12-point game into an 81-64 Hawks lead.
Atlanta had two players with double-doubles. De’Andre Hunter returned after missing Monday’s game with the flu and produced 13 points and 10 rebounds and Clint Capela had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Dejounte Murray scored 15 despite 5-for-16 shooting.
The Kings, who had not lost since Nov. 7 at Golden State, got a season-high 27 points off the bench from Malik Monk, who was 12-for-18 from the floor. De’Aaron Fox scored 18 and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Former Hawk Kevin Huerter scored 13 in his return to Atlanta.
The Hawks have scored 100-plus points in each of their first 18 games, tying the 1973-74 team for the second-longest streak to start a season. They have scored 100-plus in 39 consecutive regular-season games, the longest active streak in the NBA.
Atlanta shot 56.6 percent (30-for-53) and set a season-high for points in the first half while taking a 72-57 lead. The Hawks scored 34 points in the paint and led by as many as 19, with Young scoring 17. Monk helped keep the Kings in the game with 15 first-half points.
It was the third straight time Atlanta has beaten Sacramento. The teams complete the two-game season series on Jan. 4 in Sacramento.
The Kings complete their three-game road trip on Friday at Boston. The Hawks play again on Friday at Houston.
–Field Level Media
