Young has 39 points, 18 assists in win over 76ers
Trae Young thought it was important for him to play up to his status as an AllStar starter. After all, the 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 careerhigh 18 assists to lead Atlanta past Ben Simmons and the 76ers 127117 on Thursday night, 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 the Lakers’ LeBron James with 9.2 assists per game.
Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris said Young “is a tough cover.”
“Tonight he just carved us up,“Harris said. “He was their whole offense tonight.”
Young and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, who had 21 points and 14 rebounds, are AllStar starters. Simmons, added to the Eastern Conference team on Thursday as a reserve, scored 31 points to lead Philadelphia.
Shake Milton had a careerhigh 27 points — 14 more than his previous high — but it wasn’t enough to improve the 76ers’ poor road record. Philadelphia, 222 at home, fell to 916 in away games.
Kings 124, Clippers 103: Sacramento held the Clippers to 14 points in the second period and won in Los Angeles on an emotional night at Staples Center as the Clippers paid tribute to Kobe Bryant, who died Sunday. De’Aaron Fox scored 34 to lead the Kings, who got 19 points from Buddy Hield and 16 from Cory Joseph. Dewayne Dedmon added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento. The Clippers got 22 points from Lou Williams and 21 from Montrezl Harrell.
Nuggets 106, Jazz 100: Center Nikola Jokic scored 28 points and handed out 10 assists, and Denver used a 33-point third quarter to beat the visiting Jazz despite 37 points off the bench by Utah point guard Jordan Clarkson. Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz. Will Barton added 18 points for Denver.
Wizards 121, Hornets 107: Bradley Beal had 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists after he was snubbed for an All-Star selection, and Washington won at home. Beal — who averages 28.6 points per game, sixth in the league — was an All-Star the previous two seasons.
Raptors 115, Cavaliers 109: Serge Ibaka scored 26 and Kyle Lowry scored 23 and visiting Toronto earned its ninth straight win. Norman Powell made big plays down the stretch, scoring eight consecutive points in the final minute, after Cleveland cut a 14-point deficit to 105-104.
All-Stars: The NBA released the list of players voted by the league’s head coaches as reserves for the All-Star Game, including six who will be All-Stars for the first time: Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis, New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Gobert. Other reserves chosen: Lowry, Miami’s Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Denver’s Jokic, Houston’s Russell Westbrook and Oklahoma City’s Chris Paul. Among the notable omissions: Phoenix’s Devin Booker, Detroit’s Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond, the Clippers’ Paul George, Indiana’s Malcolm Brogdon and Beal.