Hawks guard Trae Young buried seven 3-pointers in the first half Saturday to help lead the team to a 118-109 win over the Bucks. The Hawks return stateside 2-0 in exhibition play after sweeping the Bucks in their games in Abu Dhabi.
Not surprisingly, Young looked comfortable running the show. With Dejounte Murray sidelined with back spasms, Young got into a rhythm, quickly scoring 12 points in the first quarter. He chipped in another 19 in the second to end his day with 31 points in the first half.
Young went 5-of-5 from long range, four of which he scored in his final four minutes of play. He scored a step-back 3, before pulling up for a 28-foot step-back jumper 50 seconds later. He then fired off a pair of step-back 3-pointers 30 seconds apart to keep a firm grip on the Hawks’ lead.
The Hawks’ star guard, Young will continue to find the right balance with Murray in the mix. But even without Murray’s presence Saturday, Young showed some solid moments off the ball. Four minutes into the first quarter of Saturday’s action, Young caught a pass on the perimeter before quickly dumping it to Clint Capela for a quick dunk.
Like Young, Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter followed up his exhibition debut with another strong outing. The 24-year-old scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor. He looked comfortable handling the ball, something he said he worked on this offseason.
Hawks rookie AJ Griffin took advantage of his extended run and showed off why the Hawks drafted him with the 16th overall pick. Griffin’s injury history has drawn some concern after the team held him out of Summer League because of foot discomfort. The Hawks sidelined him for some practices early in training camp, as a precautionary response, because of a minor ankle sprain.
But Griffin did not look like injuries hampered his play Saturday. Within 30 seconds of checking into the game in the first quarter, Griffin knocked down a 29-foot jumper. He made another, 35 seconds into the second quarter then drew a foul on his third 3-point attempt.
Griffin showed a willingness to work inside, too. He took advantage of the Hawks’ ball movement and got to the corner. With a pump fake he got George Hill in the air then droves and made the layup, despite a solid contest from Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
The rookie ended the day with 13 points and two assists.
While the Hawks delivered on offense, their defense looked to be in better sync. After allowing the Bucks to shoot over 50% from the floor early in Thursday’s meeting, the Hawks held them under 45% through all four quarters.
The Hawks will look to continue building on Saturday’s strong outing as they get ready to face the Cavaliers on the road at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
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