Trae Young's buzzer-beating jumper lifts Hawks past Nets 129-127

ATLANTA (AP)— Waiting for just the right moment to launch his game-winning shotwas no problem for Trae Young. He says he has been envisioningsimilar shots since he was a kid.

Young waitedpatiently for Mikal Bridges to fly past him beforesinking abuzzer-beating jumperover the reach of Spencer Dinwiddie tolift Atlanta to a 129-127 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, afew hours before the Hawks announced they hired Quin Snyder astheir coach.

The Hawkstook their final possession with 7.3 seconds remaining after CamJohnson’s 3-pointer tied the game at 127 with 7.8 secondsremaining. Young hit hispull-up 12-foot jumperasDinwiddie tried in vain to block the shot from behind.

“I’ve beencounting down those seconds since I was 5 years old, 6 years old,”Young said. “That’s nothing new.”

TRAE YOUNG🥶❄️🧊 pic.twitter.com/fpxYBApcJr

Youngfinished with 34 points for the Hawks, who recovered after blowingan 18-point lead to overcome four Nets scorers with at least 20points.

Atlanta, No.8 in the East, won its second consecutive game under interim coachJoe Prunty after Nate McMillan was fired Tuesday. General managerLandry Fields announced Sunday night Snyder had been hired toreplace McMillan. The team scheduled a news conference for Mondayto introduce Snyder.

Johnson had27 points for Brooklyn. Mikal Bridges scored 24 for the Nets, whohave lost four of five. Cam Thomas added 22 points and Dinwiddiehad 20.

The Netsbegan the day fifth in the Eastern Conference, only a half-gameahead of the New York Knicks. Coach Jacque Vaughn is trying to findanew winning mixafter the team traded Kevin Durant andKyrie Irving.

“You can’tfeel sorry for yourself,” Vaughn said. “What we have to do iscontinue to stay together and believe we can get it done.”

DorianFinney-Smith’s 3 for Brooklyn with 48 seconds remaining cutAtlanta’s lead to 127-124.

Both winsunder Prunty have come against teams above the Hawks in theconference.

“It’s great,”saidDejounte Murray, who scored 28 points. “Like I continueto tell the players, we have no control over what the front officedoes. We’re going to continue to work and try to build as many winsas we can.”

BogdanBogdanovic added 22 for Atlanta. Bogdanovic’s three 3-pointersearly in the second quarter helped Atlanta take a 50-32 lead.Thomas had 11 points in the period, helping the Nets trim theHawks’ lead to 64-57 at halftime.

Brooklyn keptits momentum to open the second half, taking a 78-73 lead. OnyekaOkongwu scored the final four points of the third period as Atlantatook a 97-94 advantage into the final period.

“We would notgive up in the second half even though we were down by doubledigits,” Vaughn said.

STICKING WITH THE STARTERS

Vaughn stuckwith his starters after the first five combined for only 34 pointsas the team set a season scoring low in an ugly 131-87 loss atChicago on Friday night.

Before thegame, Vaughn said he’s looking for consistency and a balance ofoffense and defense. He said Finney-Smith, who had only two pointsagainst the Bulls, is “one of our best defenders we have on theteam.”

“It’s prettytough to take him out of the lineup when there’s other offensiveguys he’s covering sins up for,” Vaughn said of Finney-Smith.

TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE

When askedhow many practices he has had with the team since the All-Starbreak, Vaughn referred to the blowout loss to the Bulls as “ascrimmage with referees.”

TIP-INS

Nets: C NicClaxton, from the University of Georgia, had four steals, threeblocked shots and 11 rebounds. ... G Ben Simmons (left kneesoreness) missed his second consecutive game.

Hawks: F JohnCollins returned with 12 points after missing one game while onconcussion protocol. Collins was questionable with lower backtightness and cleared to start after pregame warmups, but hisminutes were restricted. Collins logged almost 26 minutes, whichPrunty acknowledged was more than planned.

UPNEXT

Nets: HostMilwaukee on Tuesday night.

Hawks: HostWashington on Tuesday night.