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

Published Dec. 31, 2021 10:42 p.m. ET

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

Young made a pair of free throws with 7.6 seconds left after Cleveland had pulled within 119-118 on a Brandon Goodwin layup. Kevin Pangos’ potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

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

Young, who also dished out 11 assists, drained a 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining to give Atlanta its largest advantage at 119-111. Skylar Mays added 19 points and Lou Williams had 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.

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

Cleveland led 60-44 late in the second quarter, buoyed 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 Cavaliers debut.

The Hawks roared back in the third, outscoring Cleveland 40-22 behind 12 points and seven assists from Young, and eight points and nine rebounds from Capela. Young put them ahead for good at 87-86 with a 3-pointer.

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

Love scored 16 points and Allen had 12 in the first half, helping the Cavaliers take a 16-point lead and head into intermission up 66-51.

G League official Clare Aubry became the 14th woman to referee an NBA game, and was one of three officials to make their debut Friday as a result of widespread illnesses among full-time staffers.

HELP ON THE WAY

The Cavaliers have agreed to acquire four-time All-Star guard Rajon Rondo from the Lakers in exchange for Denzel Valentine, a person familiar with the negotiations

Cavs guard Ricky Rubio suffered a torn left ACL at New Orleans on Tuesday, leaving Cleveland in need of a veteran playmaker. Guard Collin Sexton also is out for the season after tearing cartilage in his left knee on Nov. 7 at New York.

TIP-INS

Hawks: Coach Nate McMillan has 703 career victories, four shy of tying John MacLeod for 18th place all-time. … Atlanta was scheduled to host Cleveland on Dec. 19, but the game was postponed because of the Hawks’ ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. … Young leads the NBA with 17 point/assist double-doubles and 11 games of at least 25 points and 10 assists this season. ... Atlanta has 26 players under contract.

Cavaliers: Former Atlanta G Brandon Goodwin signed a 10-day contract via a hardship exception and was the first player off the bench. … F Justin Anderson and C Luke Kornet were not resigned 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, the most against any opponent, and won for the 110th time.

UP NEXT

Hawks: Visit Portland on Monday night.

Cavaliers: Host Indiana on Sunday night.

___

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

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Trae Young

National Basketball Association

Atlanta Hawks

Evan Mobley

Denzel Valentine

Kevin Love

Brandon Goodwin

Cam Reddish

Clint Capela

Kevin Huerter

Rajon Rondo

Luke Kornet

Trae Young

John Collins

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Skylar Mays

Jarrett Allen

Justin Anderson

Ricky Rubio

Collin Sexton

Cleveland Cavaliers

Atlanta Hawks