Everyone knows that Trae Young is a dynamic scorer, but his best ability is his passing. The Atlanta Hawks (37-37) got a much-needed 121-110 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors. They did it without John Collins, who missed his eighth-straight contest, as well as Bogdan Bogdanovic who sat out with a sore right knee.
What made this win that much better was an encouraging third quarter that saw the Hawks hold the Warriors to 16 points in the third quarter on 7-of-21 shooting including a frosty 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.
The Hawks, meanwhile, were going 12-of-25 from the floor canning 4-of-10 triples.
As critical to the win as that third quarter was, it was Young’s play in the first half that really set the tone for the evening.
The Atlanta Hawks beat the Warriors with Trae Young’s passing and team defense
Young had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half, but the Hawks went into the break up on the Steph Curry-less Warriors up two, despite a 42-point first quarter for Golden State. He dished out seven assists. It’s his third game with as many assists and tied for the third-most he has had this season.
His teammates were the beneficiaries.
Danilo Gallinari dropped 19 points and Kevin Huerter chipped in 13 points all in the first half including 4-of-7 threes. And then there was Clint Capela. He did just as much to turn some passes into assists as Young with a 10-point, seven-board half.
They combined for 32 points in the half with 15 points coming off of Young assists with another dime going to Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot who got the spot start in place of Bogdanovic.
"We stayed with it."@TheTraeYoung | @laurenjbara pic.twitter.com/MJDAeb6bhz
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) March 26, 2022
While the Hawks were clamping up the Warriors in the third quarter, Young was going off for 15 of his team-high 31 points. He shot 54.5 percent from the floor, knocked down 3-of-6 threes, and notched another four assists while nearly outscoring Golden State all by himself. This is the 15th time he has scored at least 15 points in a quarter this season.
Young cooled off in the fourth with just seven points.
He struggled from the floor right along with the rest of the team shooting just 1-of-3 overall as the Hawks went 7-of-19 as a whole. However, he was able to get to the line to knock down four of his five free throws for the game while handing out another four dimes.
Young’s fifteen assists tied his season-high for the third time and just three off of his career-best.
The Hawks did not gain any ground thanks to the Charlotte Hornets beating the Utah Jazz but improved to .500 on the season (again) and 24-14 at home. They next play on Monday against the in a road date against the Indiana Pacers whom they beat 131-128 just two weeks ago.