Young proves his All-Star bonafides

ATLANTA 127 PHILADELPHIA 117

Trae Young thought it was important for him to play up to his status as an All-Star starter. After all, the Atlanta Hawks’ point guard was matched against two of his AllStar teammates.

“I feel I needed to prove myself a little bit,” Young said.

Young fulfilled his goal, scoring 39 points and adding a careerhigh18 assists to lead Atlanta past Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Philadelphia, 127-117 extending the 76ers’ road woes.

“I think I managed the game pretty well tonight from start to finish,” said Young, who’s in his second season. “I’m getting better every day.”

Young ranks third in the league with 29.4 points per game. He is second, behind LeBron James, with 9.2 assists per game.

Young was dominant from the opening period, when he had 10 assists. After that, he was the focus of the 76ers’ defense.

“I think we was too focused on what Trae was doing,” Simmons said.

Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris said Young “is a tough cover.”

“Tonight he just carved us up,“Harris said. “He was their whole offense tonight.”

Shake Milton had a career-high 27 points — 14 more than his previous high — but it wasn’t enough to improve the 76ers’ poor road record.

Philadelphia, 22-2 at home, fell to 9-16 in away games.

at Denver 106, Utah 100: Nikola Jokic scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds as the Nuggets pulled a game ahead of the Jazz to take first place in the Northwest Division. Jokic was one of four Nuggets in double figures. Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell was held to only four points on one-for-12 shooting.

at Boston 119, Golden State 104:

Gordon Hayward scored 25 points and the Celtics earned their fifth victory in six games. Jayson Tatum, who was named to his first All-Star team before the game, returned to the lineup after missing three games with a right groin strain. He finished with 20 points in 24 minutes.

at Washington 121, Charlotte 107:

Bradley Beal had 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Wizards after he was snubbed for an All-Star selection. Beal had been named to the All-Star Game the previous two years.

Toronto 115, at Cleveland 109:

Serge Ibaka scored 26 points, Kyle Lowry had 23 and the Raptors won their ninth straight game.

Kings 124, at Clippers 103