Trae Young Scores 50; Atlanta Hawks Beat Miami Heat: Reactions

Sharing notes on the Atlanta Hawks’ 129-124 victory over the Heat.

The Atlanta Hawks returned from their All-Star Break on Thursday, facing off with the Miami Heat for the fourth time this season. They were looking to avoid the sweep at the hands of their Southeast division rivals.

After falling behind by as much as eight in the first, the Hawks went on a 15-0 run to take a double-digit lead. The Heat scored 36 points in the first period but managed just seven halfway through the second. Miami was still able to take a lead into the halftime break.

The Heat lived up to their namesake in the third, coming out of half blazing. After the Hawks had a 11-point lead in the 2nd, Miami got a 11-point lead of their own.

Atlanta, particularly Trae Young, bounced back to start the fourth quarter, with Trae making the transformation to Ice Trae. He tied the game at 97 shortly after the final period began.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1230683006672572418

He continue to sizzle offensively as the team struggled on the other end of the court. A Jeff Teague free throw gave the Hawks their first lead of the 2nd half with six-and-a-half remaining.

The two were back and forth after that, both playing great offense and so-so defense, at best.

Officiating over that stretch was… I’ll say not in the Hawks’ favor. With Lloyd Pierce having already used (and lost) his challenge, there was nothing to do but watch. The home faithful’s best efforts were ignored by the refs.

With 1:03 left, the Hawks got the ball down three, needing a bucket to stay alive. De’Andre Hunter got a wide open look from a Trae drive-and-kick, draining the wing three to tie it.

Fellow rookie Cam Reddish came away with a steal on the other side of the court, turning that into a go-ahead dunk.

Needing a stop defensively after not getting many all night, Cam forced a Jimmy Butler miss, and while it looked like Bam Adebayo was coming up with the rebound, Trae stole it away. He was  fouled, recording his 48th and 49th points at the line to make it a 128-124 lead with 12 seconds left.

After a puzzling possession for the Heat, Trae went to the line again to set a new career-high with 50 points.

After struggling all night on defense, the Hawks came up huge when needed. Inspired, perhaps career-best plays from De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish were just as instrumental in the Hawks’ win as Trae’s 50.

Box Score Notes:

• As mentioned, Trae set a new career high with 50 points. He also tied his career-best in made threes with eight, and free throws made with 18. His 50 points came on just 25 shots.
• De’Andre Hunter was great after missing some time early with foul trouble. He finished with a +/- of positive 26 and hit all three of his attempts from deep.
• The Hawks shot 48.2 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from three. The latter is the most since January 17th.
• Damian Jones, DeAndre’ Bembry and Treveon Graham recorded DNPs. Bembry has still yet to play since January 20th despite now being healthy.

The Atlanta Hawks move to 16-41 on the season, giving the Heat their 20th loss as they look to hold onto a top-4 seed in the playoffs.

Atlanta will look to keep it rolling on Saturday, when Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks visit the ATL.