Trae Young spirits Hawks to NBA play-in tournament win over Hornets

Trae Young recovered from a slow start to score 24 points and De’Andre Hunter led a third-quarter surge that led the atlanta falcons to a 132-103 victory over the Charlotte Hornets in an Eastern Conference play-in game on Wednesday night.

The Hawks, who finished ninth in the East after an upset run to the conference finals a year ago, will travel to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers on Friday night.

The winner claims the No. 8 seed in the East and will face the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.

The season is over for the Hornets, who were blown out of the play-in game 9-10 for the second straight year and haven’t made the playoffs since 2016.

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All five of Atlanta’s starters scored in double figures, as did Bogdan Bogdanovic off the bench. he was a hunter who went big in the decisive third half, bursting with 16 points after being reduced to three in the first half.

Hunter finished with 22 points, while Danilo Gallari added 18 and Clint Capela 15. Kevin Huerter and Bogdanović contributed with 13 each.

The Hornets closed out the regular season strong and felt they had a good chance to win a couple of play-in games on the road. But those hopes were dashed against rival I-85.

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LaMelo Ball led with 26 points but shot just 7-for-25.

The Hawks led as many as 13 in the first half before settling for a 60-52 halftime lead. Charlotte had a bit of momentum in the closing minutes of the half, but it sure didn’t carry over into the third.

The Hawks outscored the Hornets 42-24 during that 12-minute flurry, shooting 16-for-24 and leading 102-76 heading into the final period.

With the Hornets doubling down on every opportunity, Young made just 1 of 9 shots in the first quarter and 3 of 13 in the first half.

But his teammates met plenty of open stares and made the Hornets pay dearly.

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Charlotte should have known what kind of night it would be on her way to State Farm Arena.

The Hornets charter bus was blocked by a freight train that stopped at an intersection near the downtown sports complex. The bus had to turn around and take a different route to the arena, delaying Charlotte’s arrival for pregame warmups.

It didn’t get much better once the game started.

The Hornets’ frustration boiled over with about 6 1/2 minutes to go when bridges of miles he complained so vehemently about a goal call that he picked up two quick technicians and was sent off.

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