Hawks zoom past Spurs in home preseason finale, 130-127

The Atlanta Hawks completed their home preseason slate on Wednesday evening and, in short, it was an entertaining preseason exhibition. In the end, the home team emerged victorious and there were plenty of fireworks along the way.

There was plenty to be excited about in the first half, including an early corner three from Alex Len, complete with a bench celebration from the injured John Collins.

The early going belonged to Taurean Prince, however, as the third-year forward scored 16 (yes, you’re reading that right) points in the first six minutes, beginning the evening by making his first seven shots.

Prince did have help in the form of some nice off-ball movement elsewhere.

Jeremy Lin enjoyed the best half of his Hawks career, scoring six points and dishing out three assists before the break.

In addition, it was an encouraging half from Trae Young, who made high-level pass after high-level pass while showing off his range.

Finally, Young delivered two gorgeous passes in the final minute, first to Alex Len and then connecting with Tyler Dorsey on a jumper to beat the second quarter buzzer.

All told, the Hawks shot 54 percent from the floor and 37 percent from three in the first half, generating 14 assists and some efficient offense. The other end of the floor was not as kind with San Antonio shooting 61 percent, but Atlanta managed to enter the break with only a two-point deficit.

The Hawks then zoomed out of the locker room with 15 (!) straight points to open the third quarter, including the play of the night as Len annihilated Pau Gasol.

While the Spurs did eventually recover to some extent, Young flashed some of the off-dribble shooting that could make him special in the future.

The Hawks scored 38 points in the third quarter and that pushed the home team to the 100-point threshold after only 36 minutes of action. With that said, the fourth quarter did not go as well, with the Spurs erasing the lead as the two teams traded haymakers down the stretch.

The game was tied with 1:07 to go but after more back-and-forth, Young connected on a deep three for the win.

Overall, it was a balanced offensive effort from the Hawks, which included the team converting 58 percent of its field goal attempts and 41 percent of its threes. Prince (25 points, six rebounds), Young (22 points, seven assists) and Len (16 points, 10 rebounds) led the way in the victory.

The Hawks will complete their preseason run on Friday evening with a road game against the Miami Heat. Stay tuned.