A FRESH START
ATLANTA—Zaccharie Risacher scored 25 points, Jalen Johnson added 19 and seven Atlanta players scored in double figures on Wednesday night in a 117-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans as the Hawks traded four-time All-Star Trae Young to Washington.
This development overshadowed results in other games on Wednesday, like San Antonio’s 107-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, which out to naught a 38-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist night by Luka Doncic.
Keldon Johnson had 27 points, Victor Wembanyama added 16 points and 14 rebounds and the Spurs moved into second place in the Western Conference despite shooting 4-for-25 on three-pointers.
LeBron James didn’t play due to arthritis and sciatica as Los Angeles’ three-game winning streak came to an end.
Calf strains also sidelined Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura for the Lakers.
Jake LaRavia, with 16 points, and Jaxson Hayes, with 10, were the only other Lakers to score in double figures against the Spurs.
Wembanyama was listed as questionable after returning on Tuesday from a two-game absence due to a hyperextended left knee. He had 30 points in 20 minutes in a 106-105 loss at Memphis and followed that up with his 15th double-double this season.
For the Hawks, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 17 points, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kennard and Dyson Daniels added 13 points apiece and Mouhamed Gueye finished with 10 as Atlanta snapped a two-game skid after losing consecutive games to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday and Monday.
Two-for-one
The Hawks agreed to trade Young, who was listed out for the game against New Orleans due to a quad contusion, to the Wizards for a package including veteran CJ McCollum, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press (AP).
Corey Kispert is also headed from Washington to Atlanta, said the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade had not received the required league approval.
Young, who was on the bench in street clothes, is 10th in points, 12th in points per game, first in assists and first in assists per game since entering the NBA as the No. 5 pick in the 2018 draft.
The Wizards held McCollum and Kispert out of their loss at Philadelphia, where Joel Embiid scored 28 points, Paul George added 23 and all of the Sixers’ starters scored in double figures in a 131-110 win.
Tyrese Maxey contributed 22 points and had eight assists for the 76ers, who have won four of five.
Tre Johnson had a team-high 20 points for Washington, which played without several key players on the second night of a back-to-back. CJ McCollum (right quad soreness) and Khris Middleton (right knee injury) were among the Washington players sidelined.
Embiid played in his fifth consecutive game contest since being slowed by early-season injuries. The 2023 MVP shot 10-for-14 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line and added seven rebounds.
Philadelphia took control early behind Embiid’s 16 points in the first quarter. The 76ers were up, 92-80, entering the fourth before opening the final period with an 11-0 run, capped by a Quentin Grimes dunk to take a 23-point lead. Grimes finished with 16 points.
Another hot SGA night
Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 46 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz, 129-125, in overtime to snap a two-game losing skid.
Gilgeous-Alexander calmly made a shot from near the free-throw line at the regulation buzzer to force overtime, then scored nine points in the extra period. The reigning MVP increased his streak of games with at least 20 points to 109, the second-longest run in NBA history.
Chet Holmgren had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Williams scored 17 points and Ajay Mitchell added 16 for defending champion Oklahoma City.
The Thunder had dropped six of their previous 12 after starting the season 24-1. The most significant recent blemish was a 124-97 loss to struggling Charlotte on Tuesday, for their second straight loss. The Thunder haven’t lost three consecutive regular-season games since April 2024.
