Trae Young scores 31 as Hawks rout Hornets 134-102 to sweep 4-game season series

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Trae Young scored 31 points, Dyson Daniels added 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and the Atlanta Hawks clobbered the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 134-102 on Tuesday night to sweep the four-game season series.

Zaccharie Risacher knocked down four 3s in the second half to finish with 21 points for the Hawks, who snapped a two-game skid.

DaQuan Jeffries and Seth Curry each had 19 points for Charlotte, which played without LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.

The Hawks led 70-57 at halftime, then Risacher hit four 3s in the third quarter — including three on three consecutive possessions — to quickly push the lead to 26. Atlanta’s lead ballooned to 100-65 late in the third quarter after Young hit a deep 3.

Risacher finished the third quarter with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, along with three rebounds, a block and an assist.

Hawks: The Hawks entered the night 5 1/2 games behind the Detroit Pistons for sixth place in the East but still have time to make a run at them. But they'll need to win the easy games and they took care of business against the Hornets.

Hornets: As if the Hornets needed anymore injury problems, backup center Moussa Diabate had to be helped off the court with about four minutes to play with a lower-body injury.

Onyeka Okongwu had 10 points in the first four minutes to set the tone as the Hawks bolted to a 20-7 lead and never looked back. He finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Atlanta made 22 of 45 3-pointers.

The Hawks host the Warriors on Saturday and the Hornets host the Knicks on Thursday night.

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

Charlotte Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic (11) fights through a double-team by Atlanta Hawks forwards Zaccharie Risacher (10) and Dominick Barlow during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets guard Seth Curry (30) drives to the basket past Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr. (8) drives past Atlanta Hawks forward Georges Niang during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets guard DaQuan Jeffries (3) drives into Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Atlanta Hawks guard Terance Mann, right, shoots against Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Charlotte Hornets guard Josh Green (10) passes against Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder calls a play during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) passes against Charlotte Hornets guard Damion Baugh during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) gestures after making a three point basket against the Charlotte Hornets during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.

Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.

United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.

The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.

Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.

“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”

Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.

McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.

“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”

Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.

The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.

The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)