ATLANTA – Trae Young had 12 points and 15 assists for his 15th double-double of the season, and the Atlanta Hawks defeated the struggling New Orleans Pelicans 124-112 on Monday night to secure their fourth straight victory.

De’Andre Hunter scored a team-high 22 points for the Hawks on his 27th birthday.

CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 29 points, one shy of his season high. Dejounte Murray, greeted with cheers in his first return to Atlanta since joining the Hawks last offseason, finished the game with seven points and 10 assists.

The depleted Pelicans (4-18) have suffered nine straight losses overall and 11 of 12 on the road this season. The team’s long injury list includes star players Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

Takeaways

Pelicans: New Orleans recovered somewhat from a dismal offensive performance against New York on Sunday as the Pelicans scored a season-low 85 points.

Hawks: Atlanta’s shooters got rolling in the second half and seven players finished the game with at least 10 points. The Hawks shot 51% from the field overall.

Key moment

After a cold first half of shooting, Young hit a three-pointer with 2:46 left in the third quarter to give the Hawks an 80-73 lead – their largest lead of the game to that point. A minute later, Hunter sank another 3 to increase the lead to 10.

Key statistics

Atlanta had 31 assists and has finished with 25 or more in a franchise-record 14 consecutive games.

Next

Atlanta plays at Milwaukee on Wednesday, while New Orleans hosts the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba