Hawks win 7th straight
Young, Bogdanovic each put down 23
ATLANTA — Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic each scored 23 points, fueling the Atlanta Hawks to their seventh straight victory, 116-93 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
The Hawks have put together their winning streak since Nate McMillan took charge as interim coach and have won seven in a row for the first time since Dec. 28, 2016, to Jan. 10, 2017.
The Hawks took their biggest lead at 27 points late in the third quarter on Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer and never let the Thunder get closer than 17 points in the second half. Bogdanovic, who played 29 minutes in a reserve role, scored a season high.
Atlanta led 61-41 halftime behind 17 points from Young, who went 6 for 8 from the field in the first two quarters. He hit a pair of free throws late in the second to give the Hawks their first 20-point lead. Thunder starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Al Horford were a combined 3 for 18 in the first half.
Young did not play in the fourth quarter as McMillan went with Rajon Rondo to give the team’s leading scorer some extra rest.
The Hawks took their first double-digit lead at 17-6 on Tony Snell’s baseline jumper midway through the first. Young and Bogdanovic each hit 3s to close an 18-2 run to make it 25-8 at the 4:04 mark.
John Collins finished with 15 points for Atlanta, which outrebounded the Thunder 47-36 and shot 54.8% from the field, 17.7% better than Oklahoma City.
Knicks 94, Magic 93
NEW YORK — Julius Randle recorded his third triple-double of the season with 18 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 94-93 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Evan Fournier scored 23 points but turned the ball over on Orlando’s final possession as the Magic dropped their ninth straight.
It was also the ninth triple-double of Randle’s seven-year NBA career.
Alec Burks scored 21 points for the Knicks, who improved to 21-21. Reggie Bullock added 20. RJ Barrett chipped in with 17 and Frank Ntilikina finished with 13.
Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon each had 17 for Orlando.
New York had lost consecutive games to Brooklyn and Philadelphia, the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and four out of its last six overall.
The Knicks were also short-handed as points guards Elfrid Payton (strained right hamstring), Derrick Rose (health and safety protocols), Austin Rivers (personal reasons) and rookie Immanuel Quickley (sore left ankle) were unavailable.
Which meant all of the ingredients were inside Madison Square Garden for a taut, back-and-forth game. New York had a 69-54 lead after Randle’s layup with 3:03 left in the third quarter, and appeared poised to put away the game. However, Orlando went on a 21-5 run spanning the remainder of third and the first 2:06 of the fourth to take a 75-74 lead on Fournier’s 3.
The Knicks regained the lead at 80-75 after Bullock and Burks made 3s on consecutive possessions. The advantage lasted a little more than a minute as the Magic used an 10-0 run to go up by five.
But Randle and the Knicks defense would put an end to New York’s slide. The All-Star forward either assisted on or scored eight of New York’s nine points in the final 5:38.
The Knicks held Orlando to 42.7% shooting from the field and 29.4% from 3.
Wizards 131, Jazz 122
WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal scored 43 points, Russell Westbrook had 35 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in his 13th triple-double of the season and the Washington Wizards beat the Utah Jazz 131-122.
Washington broke a five-game losing streak overall and a nine-game skid against Utah.
Donovan Mitchell equaled a season high with 42 points for the Jazz, who at 29-11 still have the NBA’s best record but have lost four of six in March. Joe Ingles added a career-high 34 points, including eight 3-pointers.
It was Beal’s fifth 40-point game of the season. Westbrook’s 15 rebounds equaled a season high.
Washington scored 13 straight to take a 23-12 lead with 5:02 to play in the first quarter. The Wizards increased their lead to 64-40 just before halftime, and the Jazz got no closer than 112-105 with 6:20 to play.