Bogdanovic Leads Kings Past Young, Hawks, 121-109
ATLANTA (AP) - Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points and hit two of his 3-pointers in a key fourth-quarter flurry and the Sacramento Kings fought off Atlanta's comeback attempt to beat the Hawks 121-109 on Friday night.
Sacramento led by 21 points in the second period before Trae Young, who had 30 points, led Atlanta's second-half comeback. The Hawks cut the Kings' lead to one point, 94-93, before Sacramento answered with a string of five 3-pointers, including the two by Bogdanovic.
The Kings made 18 of 31 3-pointers for the game.
Buddy Hield led the Kings with 22 points. De'Aaron Fox had 17.
Young scored 16 points in the third quarter, when the Hawks whittled away at the Kings' lead.
In the matchup of high-scoring former Oklahoma standouts, Hield scored 11 points in the third quarter to help the Kings overcome Young's hot streak.
Atlanta's comeback carried into the fourth quarter. Young's steal set up a layup by Cam Reddish, leaving Sacramento's lead one point.
Bogdanovic then sparked the Kings' flurry of 3-pointers that ended Atlanta's comeback.
After opening the season with five straight losses, the Kings have won three of four.
The Kings' big first-half lead was 21 points, 59-38, on Nemanja Bjelica's layup.
Sacramento led 63-47 at halftime thanks to its 63.4% shooting (26 of 41) from the field.
Young had only eight points in the first half but scored Atlanta's first three baskets after the break. Young's 3-pointer trimmed the Kings' lead to 68-54.
Sacramento led 72-54 before Atlanta's 12-0 run, capped by Damian Jones' jam on a pass from Young, cut the lead to six points.
TIP-INS
Kings: Trevor Ariza had 14 points with four 3s. ... F Harry Giles III made his season debut with four points. He returned from a sore left knee. ... The Kings have won four straight in their series against Atlanta, including a sweep of two games last season.
Hawks: Coach Lloyd Pierce said an upcoming five-game road trip will be a good test for his young team. He said he wasn't happy with the way those young players responded to their first challenge of games on back-to-back nights, losing at home to Chicago on Wednesday following a win over San Antonio. ... Parker has scored in double figures in seven of eight games.
UP NEXT
Kings: After completing a three-game trip, Sacramento returns home to play Portland on Tuesday night.
Hawks: Atlanta begins a five-game, West Coast trip when it plays at Portland on Sunday night.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press.
