Trae Young's 49-foot buzzer-beater lifts Hawks to a 124-121 win over the Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Trae Young hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond the halfcourt line to give the Atlanta Hawks a 124-121 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

Young took an inbounds pass, dribbled to just short of halfcourt and hit the 49-foot winner as time expired while being loosely guarded by Collin Sexton, who had seemingly forced overtime with a tying 3-pointer with four seconds remaining.

Young finished with 24 points and 20 assists. Dyson Daniels added 16 points, seven assists, and six rebounds for the Hawks, who snapped a three-game skid. Clint Capela scored 18 points and De’Andre Hunter 17.

Lauri Markkanen made a season-high eight 3-pointers and scored a season-best 35 points for Utah. Sexton added 24 points and Walker Kessler finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Utah scored on five straight possessions and took a 114-113 lead on back-to-back dunks from Kessler. Young hit a step-back 3-pointer to put Atlanta back in front, and fed De’Andre Hunter for another go-ahead 3 with 1:57 left.

Hawks: Atlanta used a balanced attack with seven players scoring in double figures.

Jazz: Utah fell behind by 14 points in the first quarter and 16 in the second before battling back both times and making it a one-possession game by halftime.

Young’s heave at the buzzer snapped the Hawks' skid and was the team's fifth in its last eight games.

Utah has won just twice in 15 home games.

The Hawks finish a six-game road swing at Phoenix on Thursday. The Jazz host Miami on Thursday.

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Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) blocks the shot of Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) shoots a three-point shot over Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci (27) to tie the game with three seconds left in an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) shoots against Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dunks the ball against the Atlanta Hawks during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young reacts to a game winning half court shot against the Utah Jazz during an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

The Atlanta Hawks celebrate a game winning half court shot against the Utah Jazz during an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) shoots a three point shot from half court over Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) at the buzzer to win an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI informant who fabricated a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepting bribes that became central to Republicans’ impeachment effort was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison.

Alexander Smirnovpleaded guilty last month in Los Angeles federal court to tax evasion and lying to the FBI about the phony bribery scheme in what prosecutors say was an effort to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Smirnov, a dual U.S. and Israeli citizen, falsely claimed to his FBI handler that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid then-Vice President Biden and his son $5 million each around 2015.

Smirnov's explosive claim in 2020 came after he expressed "bias” about Joe Biden as a presidential candidate, according to prosecutors. In reality, investigators found Smirnov had only routine business dealings with Burisma starting in 2017 — after Biden's term as vice president.

Prosecutors noted that Smirnov's false claim “set off a firestorm in Congress” when it resurfaced years later as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Biden, a Democrat who defeated Republican then-President Donald Trump in 2020. The Biden administration dismissed the House impeachment effort as a “stunt.”

Before Smirnov’s arrest, Republicans had demanded the FBI release the unredacted form documenting the unverified allegations, though they acknowledged they couldn’t confirm if they were true.

"In committing his crimes he betrayed the United States, a country that showed him nothing but generosity, including conferring on him the greatest honor it can bestow, citizenship," Justice Department special counsel David Weiss' team wrote in court papers. "He repaid the trust the United States placed in him to be a law-abiding naturalized citizen and, more specifically, that one of its premier law enforcement agencies placed in him to tell the truth as a confidential human source, by attempting to interfere in a Presidential election."

Smirnov will get credit for the time he has served behind bars since his arrest last February in the case accusing him of lying to the FBI. Prosecutors in November brought new tax charges alleging he concealed millions of dollars of income he earned between 2020 and 2022.

Smirnov's lawyers had sought no more than four years behind bars, noting the “substantial assistance" he provided to the U.S. government as an FBI informant for more than a decade. Smirnov's lawyers noted in court papers that he suffers from serious health issues related to his eyes and argue that a lengthy sentence would “unnecessarily prolong his suffering.”

“Mr. Smirnov has learned a very grave lesson and proffers to this Honorable Court that he will not find himself on this side of the law again,” attorneys Richard Schonfeld and David Chesnoff told the judge in court papers.

Smirnov was prosecuted by Weiss, who also brought gun and tax charges against Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden was supposed to be sentenced in December after being convicted at a trial in the gun case and pleading guilty to tax charges. But he was pardoned by his father, who said he believed “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”

In seeking a lighter sentence, Smirnov's lawyers wrote in court papers that both Hunter Biden and President-elect Trump — who was charged in two federal cases by a different special counsel — “have walked free and clear of any meaningful punishment.”

Special counsel Jack Smith abandoned the two federal cases against Trump — accusing him of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida — after Trump's presidential victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

Follow the AP's coverage of Hunter Biden at https://apnews.com/hub/hunter-biden.

FILE - In this courtroom sketch Defendant Alexander Smirnov speaks in Federal court in Los Angeles, Feb. 26, 2024. (William T. Robles via AP, File)