Hawks top Cavaliers to claim eighth seed
CLEVELAND — When the final horn sounded and Trae Young’s work was done, he slammed the ball off the floor, sending it spinning skyward. He then turned and waved goodbye to the Cleveland fans retreating to the the exits.
So cold.
Ice Trae stings again.
Young scored 32 of his 38 points in the second half and the Atlanta Hawks overcame losing center Clint Capela to a knee injury to beat the Cavaliers 107101 in the play-in on Friday night and earn the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 playoff seed.
Young started slowly for the second straight game, but the All-star with the chilly nickname for his ability to take over games with one of the NBA’S deadliest shooting strokes heated up when it mattered most.
“He made shots from the jump circle,” marveled Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Young scored 16 points in third quarter to rally the Hawks from a 10-point halftime deficit, and added another 16 in the fourth to finish off the Cavs, whose inexperience showed throughout the second half.
Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 points for Atlanta, which will play No. 1 seed Miami in the first round. Game 1 is Sunday in South Florida.
“We took care of business,” Young said. “It’s a testament to our team that we kept fighting and finished the job.”
The Hawks, who made it to the conference finals a year ago, may have to go forward without Capela. The 6-foot-10 center hyperextended his right knee late in the first half, had to be helped from the floor and couldn’t return.
Capela’s loss forced all of the Hawks to step up, especially on the boards. But it was Young, making 10 of his last 14 shots, who kept their season alive.
“Trae has a great deal of confidence in his game, his ability and he continued to believe,” Hawks coach Nate Mcmillan said. “I didn’t see any panic in his play. He came out in the second half, remained aggressive. Those shots started to fall, the same shots that he was taking the first half, they started to fall in the second half.”
Pelicans 105, Clippers 101: LOS ANGELES — Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the depleted Los Angeles Clippers 105-101 in a play-in Friday night and earn the West’s No. 8 seed for the playoffs.
The Pelicans made the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18, guided by first-year coach Willie Green, a former Clipper. They’ve been without Zion Williamson all season because of a foot injury.
The Clippers were dealt a huge blow earlier in the day when Paul George entered the league’s health and safety protocols. They’d already been without Kawhi Leonard all season while he rehabbed an ACL injury. He watched from the bench early in the game.
CJ Mccollum added 19 points for New Orleans, which will play No. 1 seed Phoenix in the first round. Game 1 is Sunday in the desert.
Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson each had 27 points for the Clippers.