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Trae Young's sensational buzzer-beating three-pointer lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a 124-121 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday as Boston beat Denver in a battle of the last two NBA champions.
At the end of a tight game, the crowd in Salt Lake City roared as Collin Sexton drilled a three-pointer to pull the Jazz level at 121-121 with four seconds remaining. They appeared headed to overtime when Young unleashed his stunning shot from the half-court line - the third buzzer-beater of his career according to the Hawks.
Young finished the game with 24 points and 20 assists, helping the Hawks improve to 19-18 despite Lauri Markkanen's 35 points for the Jazz. In Denver, Jayson Tatum scored 29 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 25 as the reigning champions the Boston Celtics triumphed 118-106 over the 2023 title holders Denver, who were without three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic because of illness.
Porzingis scored 15 points in the first quarter to key Boston's hot start, but their 37-25 lead evaporated in the second quarter and it was tied 57-57 at halftime. Russell Westbrook scored 26 points to lead six Denver players to score in double figures. But the Celtics used a 15-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
In New Orleans, Anthony Edwards scored 32 points with nine rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 104-97 victory over the Pelicans, spoiling Pels star Zion Williamson's return from a two-month injury absence. Williamson scored 22 points with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Dejounte Murray led New Orleans with 29 points, but CJ McCollum had a rough night - scoring just five points on one-for-14 shooting.
