Hawks start season with win
Reddish, Young score 39 points as Atlanta routs Dallas in opener
Cam Reddish scored 20 points, Trae Young added 19 and the Atlanta Hawks began a season of high expectations with a 113-87 rout of Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on Thursday night, ruining the debut of Dallas coach Jason Kidd.
Coming off a surprising run to the Eastern Conference final, the Hawks took control of the game with a dominant third quarter, stretching a 51-44 halftime lead to 86-64 heading to the fourth.
After a sluggish start, Young scored 12 points and dished out nine assists in the decisive period, drawing chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the home crowd in the very first game.
Reddish led a stellar effort from the deep Hawks bench, which contributed 44 points. Shenendehowa graduate Kevin Huerter had six rebounds and six points.
The Mavericks were thoroughly miserable in their first game under Kidd, who had not been a head coach since he was fired in Milwaukee during the 2017-18 season.
A member of the NBA’S 75th anniversary team, Kidd took over in Dallas after longtime coach Rick Carlisle stepped down on the heels of a firstround playoff loss last season.
It was only one game, but it looks like the Mavericks have plenty of work to do if they want to take the next step behind their dynamic young star.
Doncic was held to 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting, to go along with 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Heat 137, Bucks 95: Tyler Herro scored 27 points in 24 minutes off the
bench, Jimmy Butler added 21 and the Miami Heat opened their season with an easy victory over the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat, who set team records for opening night scoring and opening night margin of victory.