Mavericks at Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have been playing around .500 ball for over a month now, and their surge toward respectability on the court rests squarely on the shoulders of All-Star guard Trae Young. The dynamic point guard will try to follow up the first 50-point game of his career with another gem when he leads the Hawks into a matchup with the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
"A big game from our leader," Atlanta forward John Collins told reporters of Young following Thursday's 129-124 win over Miami. "... We got some big plays from our big-time guy." Young made 18-of-19 free throws and 8-of-15 3-pointers in the 50-point effort, and he scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead a late rally and lift the Hawks to 8-9 since their 8-32 start. The Mavericks burst out of the All-Star break with an impressive 122-106 win at Orlando on Friday. All-Star guard Luka Doncic scored 33 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out eight assists as Dallas improved to 15-8 against Eastern Conference teams.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southwest, FS Southeast
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (34-22): While Doncic flirted with tying the franchise record for triple-doubles (Jason Kidd, 21) on Friday, Maxi Kleber stole some of the spotlight by making 10-of-13 shots in a career-high 26-point effort. The 28-year-old was held to seven points or fewer in his final four games before the break, but utilized the intermission to his advantage. "This time off was really good just to get mentally off a little bit, keep working on your body and get all the little issues that you had, get rid of them, and then come out and be ready and play hard tonight," he told Fox Sports Southwest in a postgame interview. "Not thinking about anything but going hard and going to the right place every time."
ABOUT THE HAWKS (16-41): Five others scored at least 12 points to support Young's big effort against Miami, including Kevin Huerter and DeAndre Hunter with 17 points apiece. Four of those double-digit scorers, as well as Young, are 22 or younger, and the team is intent on riding its youthful talent down the stretch. "No hesitation, we are going to be an explosive offensive team moving forward with that core five," coach Lloyd Pierce told the media of Young (21), Huerter (21), Hunter (22), Collins (22) and Cam Reddish (20).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Doncic was sidelined and Young left early with a sprained ankle in the Mavericks' 123-100 win over the Hawks earlier this month.
2. Dallas PF Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points Friday and is averaging 27.9 over his last seven games.
3. Atlanta owns a six-game winning streak at home against Dallas.