May 3, 2024
DALLAS (AP) — Trae Young's latest matchup against Luka Doncic was his first with Dejounte Murray.
Atlanta's backcourt mates kept their winning streak alive against the MVP candidate.
Murray scored 30 points, Young had 18 points and 12 assists and the Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 130-122 on Wednesday night.
John Collins added 19 points as Atlanta won a season-best fourth consecutive game to get back over .500 at 23-22.
Doncic scored 30 points but had just three in the fourth quarter and fell to 4-3 in head-to-head meetings with Young. They were traded for each other as top-five picks on draft night in 2018, Doncic going third overall and Young fifth.
Murray and Collins combined to go 7 of 11 from 3-point range as the Hawks shot 57% from deep and 50% overall.
Dallas was down one when Murray, acquired in the offseason for multiple first-round draft picks, hit a 3 for a 124-120 lead just inside the two-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Young pushed the lead to six with 41 seconds left on a high-arching floater.
“These are the things we were looking for or have been looking for with (Murray) and Trae,” coach Nate McMillan said. “Trae did a good job ... understanding that (Murray) had a hot hand, was feeling it and was in a rhythm and we tried to milk that.”
Dallas shot 52% overall and 38% from long range with 16 3s but couldn't get stops while allowing at least 130 points for the third consecutive game.
“It’s a shootaround,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “In this league, you do that, no matter if you have Luka or Kareem or LeBron, you’re going to lose.
“Until we put in a better effort into defense and understanding what we have to do, then we’re going to score 120 but we’re going to give 130, 140. One night we might give up 150.”
Christian Wood had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who were coming off a 1-4 trip and have lost six of eight since a seven-game winning streak that was their longest since the franchise's lone championship season of 2010-11.
Murray put Atlanta ahead for good with a jumper to start a 7-0 that broke a 110-110 in the fourth quarter.
Dallas took its first lead at 75-73 in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Doncic that started an 11-0 run. Murray answered by scoring the next eight points to get the Hawks back within two.
