The Atlanta Hawks (30-32) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 130-124 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Sure, they had blown a 10 point lead in the third that left them trailing by two entering the final frame. But they close out with a season-best 40-point effort in the final 12 minutes to seal it.
Their 74 points in the second half also set a new season record and bring their record at home to 19-13 on the year.
They also avoided the third-quarter issues that sunk them against the Boston Celtics.
But it was a stellar performance from one Trae Young who was a gametime that brought this one home. He finished with 39 points and 13 assists tying him with several others for ninth with his 31st double-double of the season and the second-most among guards.
Trae Young went off in the fourth quarter to lift the Atlanta Hawks past the Bulls
The first half resembled the first three meetings with Young — who was fighting through a sprained ankle — putting up 16 points but shooting 3-of-8 from the floor and needing to hit eight of his free throws to get there. It was a different story in the second half as Young lit the Bulls up for 23 points on 80.0 percent shooting and knocked down 5-of-7 triples.
Atlanta had to free Young up from the defense of rookie Ayo Dosunmu who gave him fits in the first three meetings. They did so by running their typical pick-and-roll actions much higher to avoid the Bulls blitzing to get the ball out of Young’s hands.
He got 16 of his points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 from three.
3️⃣9️⃣ and 1️⃣3️⃣ and a W.@TheTraeYoung | @laurenjbara pic.twitter.com/jEocwZbkDK
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) March 4, 2022
It helped to have Kevin Huerter and De’Andre Hunter combine for 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the third as Young had just seven points but dished out four assists to keep the ball moving.
Huerter finished the evening with 17 points, 10 in the third quarter, to go with two boards, two assists, a steal, and a block while Hunter had 18 points on 53.8 percent shooting with three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Bogdan Bogdanovic joined Young in the fourth-quarter festivities with 13 of his 20 points hitting 3-of-4 triples.
He also had four rebounds in the final frame alone.
The Hawks need to stack gritty performances like this as they try to hold onto and get ready for the postseason. Just 20 games remain now. But they did add a little extra room between them and the Washington Wizards who they face on Friday while gaining some ground on the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets who both lost.