HAWKS SOAR PAST SUNS; CLIPPERS TRIUMPH

LOS ANGELES—A day that should have been highlighted by a tense battle between the city’s two ball clubs turned into a showcase of just how competitive the Atlanta Hawks can be when everything comes together.

The Hawks, fueled by 43 points from Trae Young, halted the Phoenix Suns’ 11-game NBA winning streak on Thursday with a 124-115 victory over the top team in the league.

Young, who was a gametime decision to play after being sidelined by a shoulder injury, made six of Atlanta’s 20 three-pointers, his last basket from beyond the arc ending a 6-0 Suns scoring run and putting Atlanta up 122-113 with 37.7 seconds remaining.

“It’s big-time for us,” Young said of Atlanta’s eighth win in their last nine games.

Phoenix fell to 41-10, still the best record in the NBA, with their first defeat since losing to Miami on Jan. 8.

Devin Booker led Phoenix with 32 points. Mikal Bridges added 24 and Chris Paul scored 18.

John Collins and Kevin Huerter scored 19 apiece for Atlanta, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference but on the rise as the All-Star break approaches.

“We started out the season not as fast as we wanted to,” Young said. “We had a lot of COVID issues and guys being out, but got our guys back and we’ve started to play well. We’ve just got to keep it going.

“We beat a really good team who were on a great streak tonight, and we’ve just got to keep it going.”

The Clippers won a tense crosstown battle with the Lakers in Los Angeles, where Reggie Jackson’s driving layup with 4.1 seconds remaining gave the Clippers a 111-110 victory.

Before Jackson’s bucket, Lakers star Anthony Davis dunked to give the Lakers the lead with 12.5 seconds remaining.

Trae Young (photo above, left) and the resurgent Hawks get the better of Chris Paul and the league-leading Suns.