Hawks outlast Pelicans in OT, 124-121

The Atlanta Hawks hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night, looking to defend home floor after a five-game road trip. The Hawks were able to get a thrilling win in this one, holding off the Pelicans for a 124-121 overtime win. Atlanta was led by Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, who combined for 56 points and 21 assists.

Atlanta got off to a hot start offensively, scoring 18 points in the first five minutes and change.

Trae Young, who was sporting some protective eyewear after taking a hit to the eye earlier in the week, did not appear to have any trouble seeing out of the gates.

The Hawks led just 29-28 after the first quarter as CJ McCollum had 11 points for the Pelicans in the opening period. Young had ten points and four assists in the first.

Atlanta started the second quarter on a 10-2 run that was largely powered by Jalen Johnson, who was making plays on both ends of the court.

The Hawks led 60-52 at the half, with Young leading the way with 17 points to go along with six assists. Dejounte Murray had nine points and eight assists in the opening half, while Clint Capela added a first-half double-double with 13 points and ten boards ahead of the break.

Atlanta’s defense slipped up a bit in the third, allowing 33 points to the Pelicans in the quarter. The Hawks led by just three points heading to the fourth quarter after leading by double-digits at different points during the third quarter.

New Orleans began to threaten in the second half, making multiple runs at the Hawks before finally breaking through down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Atlanta went on a 10-0 run to take a 103-90 lead with 4:52 to go.

The Pelicans took a timeout there, and came out of the break scalding. A 17-2 run powered by Zion Williamson that spanned less than four minutes left New Orleans with the lead inside the final minutes. Murray hit a huge shot for the Hawks with 4.8 seconds to go to tie the score at 109. Brandon Ingram was unable to hit the game-winner out of another Pelicans timeout, sending the game to overtime.

Murray was everywhere early in OT as well, picking up four points and a steal almost immediately. The Hawks started overtime on an 8-2 run, leading 117-111 with 2:11 remaining.

The Hawks were able to maintain their lead from there, with a three-pointer from John Collins that put Atlanta up 122-116 with 19.2 remaining effectively being the dagger though there were some stressful moments in the final seconds.

Young led the way for the Hawks with 34 points and ten assists, while Murray tallied a triple-double of 22 points, 11 assists and ten rebounds. Capela finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots and two steals. McCollum and Williamson both finished with 29 points a piece in the loss.

Atlanta will be back in action from home on Monday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks. Tip is set for 8:15 pm ET.

Stay tuned.