‘He just punked them’: Superstar’s miracle half-court winner amid ‘clown’ act — NBA Wrap

Trae Young scored 33 factors and lofted a move from midcourt to rookie AJ Griffin for the game-winning alley-oop layup on the buzzer within the Atlanta Hawks’ 124-122 NBA extra time victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday (US time).

Young handed out 12 assists for the Hawks, who shook off a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday and avenged their defeat to the Raptors in October.

Despite a slew of harm absences that included key contributor Pascal Siakam, Toronto led 108-101 with 2:36 remaining within the fourth quarter.

Watch a mean of 9 LIVE NBA Regular Season video games per week on ESPN on Kayo Sports on ESPN on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

The Hawks responded with a 10-0 run to take a two-point lead with lower than a minute remaining, and Raptors guard Scottie Barnes missed a putback try on the buzzer that will have gained it.

Griffin performed half-hour off the bench and scored eight of his 17 factors in extra time, his driving floater with 1:58 to play giving Atlanta a 118-115 lead.

“He plays with a lot of poise and made some big shots tonight,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan mentioned of the 19-year-old.

The Hawks have been up 120-117 after Young’s layup with 28.2 seconds remaining, however the Raptors — with the assistance of a dunk by OG Anunoby — had it knotted at 122-122 with 3.8 seconds left.

On the following inbounds Young obtained the ball at half courtroom and fired an arching move to Griffin beneath the basket for a large open game-winner.

“He saw the ending,” mentioned a beaming Griffin, who delighted within the celebratory ice-water dousing he obtained from his teammates after the win.

It got here all the way down to the wire in Philadelphia, the place the Minnesota Timberwolves turned again a late cost from the 76ers for a 112-109 victory.

The Indiana Pacers pulled out a detailed one, edging the Orlando Magic 114-113.

The Timberwolves led by as many as 17 within the third quarter and by 13 going into the ultimate body.

But the short-handed 76ers, fueled by 32 factors from Joel Embiid and 27 from Shake Milton, trimmed the deficit to at least one level on De’Anthony Melton’s three-pointer with 29.1 seconds remaining.

Melton then got here up with a steal from Anthony Edwards however missed a driving layup and Edwards — who led Minnesota with 25 factors — pushed the lead again to a few with a pair of free throws.

The 76ers have been with out star guard James Harden for a seventh recreation due to a foot harm. Tobias Harris was once more absent with a sore hip and Tyrese Maxey missed his first recreation since struggling a left foot fracture on Friday.

They obtained one other scare late within the fourth when Embiid tripped over teammate Georges Niang and hit the courtroom, showing to show an ankle.

He stayed within the recreation however appeared restricted and fell yet another time.

In Indianapolis, Aaron Nesmith made two free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining and the Pacers thwarted the Magic on their final possession to seize the slim win.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 factors and handed out 14 assists for the Pacers, who gained their fourth straight recreation. He mentioned the tight video games have been making the Pacers higher.

“It’s happening over and over we’re in close games down the stretch. You’ve just kind of got to figure it out on the go,” Haliburton mentioned.

“We’re growing together as a group, getting better every day, and becoming closer on and off the floor. That’s allowing us to have trust in each other to pull these games out.”

Orlando, taking part in with out standout rookie Paolo Banchero for a fifth straight recreation, had an opportunity to grab the win within the waning seconds, however Franz Wagner missed a layup and Mo Bamba couldn’t put again the rebound.

NBA SCORES – SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20 (AEDT)

Timberwolves 112 – 76ers 109

Magic 113 – Pacers 114

Raptors 122 – Hawks 124

Spurs – Clippers

Jazz – Trail Blazers