Hawks have little trouble pinning Raptors with 10th straight loss
Dec 29, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) dribbles the ball past Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji (30) in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images Trae Young collected 34 points and 10 assists and the visiting Atlanta Hawks never trailed en route to a 136-107 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.
Reserve De'Andre Hunter added 22 points for the Hawks, who have won four games in a row.
Jalen Johnson chipped in 15 points, six steals and one block. Onyeka Okongwu returned after missing five games due to a knee injury and scored 15 points off the bench, Zaccharie Risacher contributed 14 points and Clint Capela had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Scottie Barnes had 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Raptors, who have lost 10 straight games. RJ Barrett added 17 points, and Jakob Poeltl (groin injury) was back in the lineup after missing four games and had 13 points. Bruce Brown made his season debut and scored 12 points off the bench for Toronto, which committed 31 turnovers.
Atlanta led 35-25 after one quarter, taking advantage of 10 Toronto giveaways.
Toronto started the second quarter with a 6-2 run, but Young's 3-pointer bumped Atlanta's lead to 14 points, 47-33, with 8:36 to play in the frame. The Raptors then used an 11-2 surge to cut the margin to five with five minutes remaining.
However, the Hawks stayed in control before settling for a 64-58 lead at the break after the Raptors' Chris Boucher canned a 31-foot 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
Atlanta shot 43.8 percent from the field in the first half and had nine turnovers.
Meanwhile, Toronto shot 57.9 percent overall during the first two quarters while committing 17 turnovers.
Atlanta was up 76-64 with 9:21 left in the third quarter after Risacher's dunk following Young's steal. A 7-0 rally extended Atlanta's lead to 17 with 5:41 remaining in the frame, and Hunter's 3-pointer stretched the gap to 21 points, 99-78, with 2:53 to go.
Atlanta had a 104-82 cushion after three quarters and saw its advantage reach as many as 31 in the fourth.
--Field Level Media
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