Aldridge, White lead Spurs past Hawks 111-104

By PAUL NEWBERRY

ATLANTA (AP) _ LaMarcus Aldridge scored 32 points and the San Antonio Spurs pulled away in the closing minutes for their fourth straight victory, beating the Atlanta Hawks 111-104 on Wednesday night.

Derrick White really stood out down the stretch, helping the Spurs tighten their grip on the final playoff spot in the West. He scored seven straights points, putting San Antonio ahead to stay with a 3-pointer before hitting two straight shots in the lane for a 98-93 lead.

Finally, with the Hawks desperately needing a stop, White zipped a pass to Aldridge under the basket for a lay-in that sealed the victory.

White finished with 18 points and nine assists.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 24 points but made only eight of 24 shots, going 1 for 7 from beyond the arc. Atlanta was also hampered by the loss of Taurean Prince, who was ejected with 7:28 left in the third quarter after picking up two straight technical fouls. Scott Foster slapped Prince with a T at the end of a play, Prince said something else, and the referee quickly signaled that his night was done.

Atlanta’s Vince Carter also picked up a technical in the fourth for complaining loudly when he didn’t get the call on a drive to the basket.

John Collins returned to the Hawks lineup after missing three straight games with flu-like symptoms. He was limited to 25 minutes, but still scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

TIP-INS

Spurs: White, a 6-foot-4 guard, had the crowd oohing in the opening minutes when he dunked over 7-1 center Alex Len. … Patty Mills chipped in with 12 points. … Davis Bertans also had 12 points _ all on 3-pointers. … Rudy Gay led San Antonio with 11 rebounds.

Hawks: Prince finished with nine points and five rebounds. … Atlanta was outscored by 16 points when Young was on the court. … The youthful Hawks have struggled to close out games. The last five Atlanta losses have been by a combined 26 points, including a four-overtime setback to the Bulls.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Return home to host the East-leading Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

Hawks: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday in the first of back-to-back games at State Farm Arena.

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