<p>ATLANTA — Trae Young scored 25 points, Lou Williams added 22 in his best game since returning to Atlanta and the surging Hawks pulled away in the final period for a 112-96 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>The Hawks began the day clinging to the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference, which would mean home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.</p>
<p>Atlanta won for the fifth time in six games to move a step closer to locking up its first postseason berth since 2017.</p>
<p>The Hawks took command in the second quarter, outscoring the Magic 28-13 over the final 7 minutes to build a 65-48 lead at halftime.</p>
<p>Clint Capela scored 12 of his 14 points during the run, <a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1384679772815568904">Young</a> added seven and Bogdan Bogdanovic knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.</p>
<p>Capela had another dominating game on the boards, finishing with 19 rebounds. </p>
<p>Orlando got as close as six in the third quarter before Atlanta iced the victory in the final period.</p>
<p>
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-rajon-rondo-atlanta-8bf52a684c62d402dc038dce8cb32566">Williams was stunned</a> by the trade-deadline deal that brought him to Atlanta from the Los Angeles Clippers. He even considered retirement, despite coming back to a team he once played for and the city where he grew up. </p>
<p>After sitting out four games to ponder his options, Williams finally joined the Hawks to provide some scoring punch off the bench. <a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1384677484520779781">His performance against the Magic</a> was what injury-plagued Atlanta had in mind.</p>
<p>Wendell Carter Jr. and Cole Anthony had 17 points apiece for Orlando, which has lost nine of 10. </p>
<p>TIP-INS</p>
<p>Magic: Dropped to 3-11 since trading longtime franchise stalwarts Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon at the deadline. … Was outrebounded by the Hawks 67-51. </p>
<p>Hawks: F Danilo Gallinari missed his fifth straight game with a sore right foot. … Improved to 18-6 since Nate McMillan took over as interim coach after the firing of Lloyd Pierce. … <a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1384681003868835841">John Collins</a> had 11 points and 14 rebounds. … All five starters scored in double figures. </p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Magic: Return home to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.</p>
<p>Hawks: Travel to New York on Wednesday to face the Knicks.</p>
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