Finishing surge from Kyrie Irving, Mavericks topple Hawks

Kyrie Irving scored 16 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter, helping lead the visiting Dallas Mavericks to a 129-119 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Jalen Hardy added 23 points, while Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie each scored 22 as the Mavericks won their fifth game in six tries. PJ Washington chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Daniel Gafford scored 10 off the bench.

Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Trae Young added 18 points and 16 assists. Bogdan Bogdanovic also had 18 points, while Dyson Daniels recorded 17 and Clint Capela produced 12. The Hawks dropped their third straight game.

With a six-point halftime lead, the Hawks extended their advantage to 80-69 on Johnson’s 3-pointer with 8:42 left in the third quarter.

Dallas cut the deficit to four before Johnson dunked with 5:27 left in the period. From there, the Mavericks went on a 14-7 run capped by a basket from Marshall. Dallas led 96-95 entering the fourth quarter.

After Young’s 3-pointer trimmed the Hawks’ deficit to 108-107 with 7:35 left, Irving hit three 3-pointers to highlight a 10-2 Dallas spurt.

Hardy and Irving each scored layups to cap the game’s scoring and clinch the win.

In the first quarter, the Hawks raced out to a 27-16 lead on Kobe Bufkin’s reverse layup at 3:18. Bufkin then gave Atlanta its biggest edge to that point at 31-18 with a mid-range jumper with 2:09 left.

Dallas responded with a 10-0 run to end the opening quarter, capped by Marshall’s buzzer-beating triple.

With 3:04 left in the first half, Hardy’s three-point play extended the Mavericks’ lead to 59-53. The Hawks then closed the first half with a 14-2 run, capped by layups from Daniels and Johnson on the final two possessions.

Johnson led the Hawks with 15 points in the first half, while Hardy’s 15 went in Dallas.

–Field-level media