Point guard Trae Young surpassed Michael Jordan to put the perfect cherry on top of the Atlanta Hawks (29-31) 127-100 win over the reeling Toronto Raptors. After their close loss to the Chicago Bulls a couple of nights earlier, the Hawks outscored the Raptors 82-67 after falling down by 12 points early in the second quarter.
The win gives the Hawks some added breathing room over the Washington Wizards, who lost 92-86 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
Atlanta is now a full two games up on Washington and just one half-game back of the Charlotte Hornets for ninth in the East. They are also just 1.5 games back of the eight-seed after the Brooklyn Nets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 126-123.
But it was Young’s night that had this one in the bag in the third quarter.
Trae Young moved into ninth all-time with his 10th 40-point, 10-assist game
Overtaking the greatest player in the game’s history is a pretty significant statistic. Jordan’s ability to do everything (check the trophy case) is what set him apart and these types of games show how dominant of a scorer a player is but also how well they can keep their teammates involved throughout the game.
It would be easy to get tunnel vision when things are cooking as Young had them against a Raptors team that refused to switch on him without their best perimeter defender. Young finished with 41 points and 11 assists for good measure.
The Hawks had four other players hit double-digits in this one.
They really just needed Young doing what he does best, working out of the pick-and-roll, to get a big win with 22 games left on the slate.
Trae Young passed Michael Jordan for the ninth-most 40+ point, 10+ assist games in NBA history.@TheTraeYoung | @laurenjbara pic.twitter.com/NB9vPPwIjz
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) February 27, 2022
Young was candid in his postgame presser showing his appreciation for the significance of the accomplishment. But he was quick to bring the focus back to the bigger picture for a Hawks team trying to get its groove from last season’s playoffs back.
"“To be honest with you, I never I imagined it. I always dreamed of things like this, to be a part of categories and a part of this; with the legends, guys that played before me that I looked up to. But when the games are going on and whenever I’m practicing, I’m always thinking about my team and how we can win…Because if we don’t win, none of this stuff matters and nobody cares about it, especially me. – via Sarah K. Spencer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution”"
Young also tied Tracy McGrady for the sixth-most 40-plus-point outings before the age of 24 by notching the 22nd of his career and, now, only Jordan and LeBron James have more 40-point games at 23 or younger since the ABA-NBA merger.
He talked about his ability to score which many questioned when he entered the league.
"“Scoring is never going to be a problem for me…It’s never been a problem, and it’s not going to. I just try to pride myself on outsmarting the defense and just trying to make the right read. I know I can score at every level and get my teammates involved.” via Chris Kirschner/The Athletic"
Perhaps the most impressive part of this is that Young hit just 1-of-4 threes in this game.
Young was 10-of-12 in the non-restricted paint area where defenders a stuck picking their poison between letting him hit his trademark floater or a big catching a lob. He also went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.
Toronto has now lost two in a row.
The Hawks next take the court on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics who have won two in a row and take on the tanking Indiana Pacers on Sunday.