Young’s surge helps Hawks top Grizzlies
MEMPHIS — Trae Young scored eight straight points down the stretch and finished with 36 on Saturday night as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-112.
Kevin Huerter added 21 points for the Hawks, who won their second straight game to start the season.
De’Andre Hunter finished with 15 points and rookie
Nathan Knight added 14, going 4-of-5 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Ja Morant led Memphis with 28 points and seven assists, Kyle Anderson finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Dillon Brooks had 19 points before fouling out in the closing seconds. The game was a showdown between two of the league’s top young point guards in Young and Morant after both had big openers Wednesday night. Young had 37 points in the Hawks’ 124-104 road win against the Chicago Bulls, while Morant scored a careerhigh 44 in a home loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Young was limited to 12 points in the first half Saturday — Atlanta went into the locker room up 58-56 — but scored 10 in the final 2:40, starting with the eight straight to keep Memphis from overtaking Atlanta. “I think shots just went down,” Young said of the second half. “I was getting some really good looks in that first half. Shots just weren’t going in. For all of us. … I think we got the rust off (in the first half) and played really well as far as scoring throughout the rest of the game.”
› LEXINGTON, Ky. —
Carlik Jones made two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining to cap a 20-point performance, and David Johnson scored 17 as Louisville held off nonconference rival Kentucky 62-59 on Saturday. The Cardinals (6-1) won their second consecutive game as the Wildcats (1-6) dropped their sixth in a row to tie for the second-longest skid in program history. This battle for Bluegrass State basketball bragging rights was close throughout and ultimately sealed by Louisville at the foul line. The Cardinals led 56-49 before Kentucky rallied to tie the game at 59 on Isaiah Jackson’s second free throw with 1:05 left. After
Dre Davis made one of two free throws to put Louisville up 60-59 with 18.9 left, Olivier Sarr’s jumper rimmed out and
Davion Mintz fouled Jones on the rebound. The graduate transfer guard made the free throws for a three-point edge. Brandon Boston Jr.’ s wide-open 3-point attempt with a second left bounced off the rim and was rebounded by Jae’lyn Withers, helping Louisville end a three-game series losing streak while extending Kentucky’s longest slide in 12 seasons under coach John Calipari.
› FORT WORTH, Texas — Corey Kispert recorded career highs with 32 points and nine 3-pointers Saturday, leading No. 1 Gonzaga to a 98-75 romp over 16th-ranked Virginia, the most recent NCAA Division I men’s basketball champion. The neutral-site matchup was essentially the Bulldogs’ replacement for what was supposed to be a 1-2 matchup against Baylor in early December in Indianapolis. After that game was called off less than 90 minutes before tipoff because of COVID-19, Gonzaga ended up on national TV on CBS in Baylor’s home state instead, playing its fourth game since a five-game pause because of the virus. Drew Timme also had a career high with 29 points and led Gonzaga (7-0) with eight rebounds. Kihei Clark scored 19 points to lead the Cavaliers (4-2), the 2019 NCAA champs who dropped to 1-31 all-time against topranked teams almost 35 years since their only victory.