Magic can't stifle Hawks' late rally, suffer 5th straight loss

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Trae Young scored 32 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with eight seconds remaining as the Atlanta Hawks rallied from 19 down in the second half to beat the Orlando Magic 115-112 on Wednesday night.

Young had 20 points after halftime to lead the Hawks back from a 61-42 deficit at the break. They shot 9 of 13 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and 21 of 45 in the game to complete their biggest comeback of the season.

Combined with Tuesday’s win in Miami, Atlanta improved to 2-0 under interim coach Nate McMillan and won consecutive games for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks. McMillan took over Monday when Lloyd Pierce was fired.

Atlanta took its first lead at 111-110 when Tony Snell drilled a corner 3 off a feed from Young with 1:09 to play. Nikola Vucevic briefly put Orlando ahead 112-111 with a follow-up layup with 18 seconds left. However, Young was fouled by Michael Carter-Williams on a hard drive to the rim and calmly sank the two free throws to put Atlanta back in front.

Orlando’s Terrence Ross, who made just his second start in the past three seasons, missed a runner in the lane in the closing seconds.

Danilo Gallinari hit five 3s and scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half. John Collins had 15 points and Kevin Huerter added 13. All five Atlanta starters made at least three 3s. Young finished 4 of 7 from long range and sank 10 of 11 free throws.

Vucevic had 29 points and nine rebounds for Orlando, which lost its fifth straight. Ross scored 28, while Carter-Williams added 20 points, six rebounds and six assists.

TIP-INS

Hawks: Clint Capela, the NBA’s leading rebounder (14.2 per game), didn’t play because of a sore foot. McMillan said Capela was inadvertently kicked in his heel during Tuesday’s win in Miami and the injury worsened. … Held to two points in his previous two first quarters, Young had 10 points and two 3s in the first 12 minutes.

Magic: Evan Fournier missed his 15th game, this time because of a groin strain sustained Monday while scoring 26 points. Fournier previously missed 14 games with back spasms. The Magic came into Wednesday 10-11 with Fournier, but 3-11 when he was out. … The Magic scored a season-best 39 first-quarter points and tied another season high with six 3s in the opening quarter.

$1 MILLION DONATION

The Magic Youth Foundation distributed $1 million in grants to several organizations that assist at-risk children in Central Florida. The foundation had raised the funds in recent years, but the pandemic hampered those efforts. The Magic organization said it is donating $700,000 to cover the shortfall to meet the $1 million goal. The team has donated $26 million in 30 years.