Young returns, carries Hawks past Spurs
Trae Young scored 28 of his 29 points in the second half, Jabari Parker added 19 points, and the Atlanta Hawks moved past the suspension of John Collins to snap a three-game losing streak with a 108-100 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Young, returning after missing one game with a right ankle sprain, put on some dazzling moves in the fourth quarter to help his team overcome the loss of Collins, who was suspended earlier in the day for 25 games without pay for a violation of the NBA’s antidrug program after testing positive for a growth hormone.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points, Bryn Forbes had 17 and Patty Mills 16 for the Spurs. San Antonio has dropped three of four. LEBRON POSTS ANOTHER TRIPLE-DOUBLE AS LAKERS RALLY >> LeBron James had 30 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive triple-double, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied to beat the Chicago Bulls 118-112 in Chicago for their sixth straight victory.
Los Angeles trailed by 19 before shutting down Chicago in the fourth quarter during the finale of a three-game trip. The Lakers bench keyed most of a 16-0 run to begin the final period.
Kyle Kuzma and Quinn Cook sparked the Lakers’ comeback. Kuzma scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth, and Cook made a 3-pointer to give Los Angeles
a 94-93 lead with 8:53 remaining.
HAYWARD TIES CAREER HIGH WITH 39 >> Gordon Hayward tied a career high with 39 points, making all 16 of his 2-point attempts, and the Boston Celtics won their fifth straight game by holding off the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-113 in Cleveland.
Hayward put in Kemba Walker’s miss with 22 seconds left to give Boston a 118-113 lead. Walker stole the inbounds pass and hit a free throw to put the game away.
Jaylen Brown (illness) worked out in Boston and could join the team in Charlotte. He has not played since Oct. 26 at New York, sitting out the past three games.
HAWKS’ COLLINS SUSPENDED 25 GAMES FOR PEDS >> Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins was suspended for 25 games without pay for a violation of the NBA’s anti-drug program after testing positive for a growth hormone. The league announced that Collins, 22, tested positive for Peptide-2. He is Atlanta’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.
Collins apologized in a statement, saying he was “incredibly frustrated and disappointed in myself for putting all of us in this position,” but that he planned to appeal the suspension.
“I have always been incredibly careful about what I put in my body, but I took a supplement which, unbeknownst to me, had been contaminated with an illegal component,” he said. BLAZERS’ COLLINS OUT FOUR MONTHS >> Trail Blazers forward Zach Collins underwent a shoulder surgery that will sideline him for at least four months. The team said Collins had surgery to repair his left labrum.