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Doncic, Mavericks rally in 4th for win over Hawks

Glenn James / National Basketball Association / Getty

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 28 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks rallied for a 118-117 win over the Hawks on Wednesday night, a week after ending a six-game losing streak in Atlanta.

The Mavericks kept the ball out of Trae Young's hands on an inbound play with 4.7 seconds remaining, and Danilo Gallinari's jumper just before the buzzer was short.

Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce thought Young was fouled setting a screen on the final play when Willie Cauley-Stein ran into him and said Young getting knocked down interrupted the intended play.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback, starting with a quarter-opening 3 to get the Mavericks within six after they trailed by 13 in the third. Dallas won its third straight and fourth in five games.

John Collins scored 33 points and Young had had 25 points and 15 assists for the Hawks, who have lost four of five in a stretch that included a 122-116 Dallas win in Atlanta that ended the Mavericks' longest skid since 2019. Kevin Huerter scored a season-high 23 points for the Hawks.

Dallas played the national anthem before the game for the first time this season, a day after owner Mark Cuban revealed he had decided not to play “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The NBA initially said teams had been given latitude for pregame activities in the coronavirus pandemic before reversing course and declaring all teams would play the anthem before games, as news of Cuban's decision sparked a national conversation.

Most teams aren't playing in front of fans, but this was the second of the season for the Mavs to have up to 1,500 vaccinated essential workers attending for free.

Jalen Brunson, who scored 21 points, put Dallas ahead for good on a jumper for a 111-109 lead with less than four minutes to go and assisted on a 3-pointer by Dorian Finney-Smith for a four-point lead before Young answered with a 3 in the final minute.

The Hawks led 62-52 at halftime after finishing the first half on a 14-4 run that started when Young hit a 3-pointer as Porzingis ran into him for his third foul.

Young, an 89% free throw shooter, didn’t convert that four-point play but hit another 3 just before Doncic also picked up his third foul to join Porzingis on the bench in the final two minutes of the first half.

TIP-INS

Hawks: Coach Lloyd Pierce said F De'Andre Hunter was going through strength work after surgery on his injured right knee. ... Clint Capela's NBA-best streak of 19 straight games with at least 10 rebounds ended because of foul trouble. He picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and had seven rebounds.

Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis was in foul trouble but finished with 15 points. ... Willie Cauley-Stein scored 14 points.

UP NEXT

Hawks: Atlanta plays San Antonio at home Friday. The Hawks swept the two-game series with the Spurs last season for the first time since 1996-97.

Mavericks: The Pelicans visit Friday in the first meeting of the season after a Jan. 11 game in New Orleans was postponed by COVID-19 protocols. The Mavericks swept the four-game series last season, their first sweep of the Pelicans since 2013-14.

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