NBA Recap: Trae, Giannis and Luka shine in Hawks, Bucks and Mavs wins

Trae Young, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic starred as their teams secured a hard-fought win on Wednesday night.

Here is the recap of selected games played in the NBA last night.

Young makes key free throws, leads Hawks past Pacers 114-111

Trae Young made two crucial free throws in the final seconds of a hard-fought victory on Wednesday night, but lamented a turnover that put the Atlanta Hawks in a precarious last-second situation.

The Hawks had a one-point lead when Young lost control of the basketball. Indiana Pacers rookie Chris Duarte came up with the steal, but was unable to convert a contested layup.

Young was subsequently fouled with 1.2 seconds remaining and made the final two of his 33 points for a 114-111 road win.

Trae Young was the top performer for Hawks as he dropped 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists while Malcolm Brogdon with 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists topped for Pacers.

Bucks beat Hornets on Antetokounmpo’s final-seconds layup

Antetokounmpo’s monster double-double and late driving layup with 2.0 seconds remaining lifted the in-form Bucks (14-8) to their eighth consecutive victory midweek.

Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo had 40 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in a near triple-double performance at home to the Hornets.

The Bucks withstood LaMelo Ball, who posted 36 points, nine assists and five rebounds on the road for the Hornets (13-11).

Doncic flexes his muscles

Luka Doncic fuelled the Dallas Mavericks’ 139-107 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans. He put up 28 points and 14 assists in just 27 minutes. According to Stats Perform, Doncic is the first player to reach those numbers while playing 27 minutes or less since Hall of Famer Magic Johnson in 1987.

Jae’Sean Tate’s career-high 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks helped the Houston Rockets rally past the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-110. The Rockets are the first team in NBA history with four straight wins immediately after a 15-game losing streak, per Stats Perform. As for Tate, he joined Hakeem Olajuwon as the only Rockets players to record 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and five-plus blocks in a game.

Embiid struggles as Philly’s offensive woes continue

In the absence of wantaway All-Star Ben Simmons, the Philadelphia 76ers continue to endure a topsy-turvy campaign following their 88-87 defeat to the Boston Celtics. MVP runner-up Joel Embiid had a double-double of 13 points and 18 rebounds, but he was just three-of-17 shooting. Tobias Harris was four-of-11 shooting – missing all four of his three-point attempts – for only eight points.

Duncan Robinson had a game to forget as the shorthanded Miami Heat went down 111-85 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Robinson went scoreless in 20 minutes on 0-of-seven shooting from the floor, having failed to make any of his six efforts from beyond the arc.

Nuggets 103- 108 Magic
Timberwolves 107-115 Washington Wizards
Sixers 87-88 Celtics
Cavs 111-85 Heat
Rockets 114-110 Thunder
Kings 124- 115 Clippers