Trae Young puts up strong third as Hawks storm back to down Pelicans

But the Hawks didn’t waiver.

The Hawks needed to go to the bench early after forward De’Andre Hunter exited the game in the first quarter with a dislocated right pinky finger. But Hunter returned to the floor in the second and looked to impact the game on the defensive end and gave the team a lift.

“What ‘Dre did tonight, like, put it on the front page, and he came out, I don’t know what he did to his (finger), whatever it happened,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said after the game. “He was out and when he came back, the defensive job that he did was phenomenal. And it really gave our team a lift as well.”

2. Five nights ago, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray put up a perfect third quarter. On Saturday, Trae Young took his turn, knocking down all four of his shots, including a pair of 3-pointers that put the Hawks up for good.

The Hawks had already returned from the locker room on a mission to turn their fortunes around. Young ended the first half with just six points, but his 11-point third quarter fueled the Hawks’ comeback. Halfway through the third, he nailed a 3 as the shot clock expired, then hit one from 27 feet just 33 seconds later.

Prior to Saturday, Young shot 25% from 3 but the Hawks guard remained patient and looked for his spots. But he stressd that the his, and Murray’s, priority is getting to the postseason.

“Well, that’s how we all expect it to be,” Young said. “I mean, it’s gonna be nights where it could be nights for him where he’s taking over games. It could be the same vice versa. So for us, me and him we had the same mindset, we just want to win and get to June and playing in June. So that’s our goal.”

Young finished with 22 points to lead the Hawks.

3. Like Monday night against the Timberwolves, the Hawks ratcheted up their defense in the second half with more communication and more doubles to trap either Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram.

They handled their one-on-one matchups, as well. They moved their feet and didn’t give the Pelicans the opportunity to blow by them. If the Pelicans did get by, the Hawks made them work for every single shot.

“Those individual matchups are really important and then the other guys on the floor impacting the game as well, where it’s not just one guy trying to take a matchup,” Snyder said.

4. The Pelicans outmuscled the Hawks in the first half, forcing turnovers that they capitalized on. The Hawks had nine turnovers in the first half, which results in 10 points.

The Hawks just didn’t get back in time and it forced them into spots where they had to reach in and they got called for the contact. The Pelicans, Williamson in particular, capitalized on it with 11 made free throws.

Williamson, who went to 7-of-10 from the line, ended the night with 25 points and five rebounds.

5. Coming into the night, the Pelicans held their opponents to 28.1% efficiency from 3. Though the Hawks did not light up the floor from distance, the Pelicans could not stop them as they made their push in the third quarter.

After making just 22.7% of the shots from deep in the first half, the Hawks went 47.4% from 3. Young, Murray and Onyeka Okongwu each hit multiple shots from 3. Okongwu’s back-to-back 3s were his first of the season.

Stat to know

10 -- The Hawks trailed by as many as 10 points in the victory. Atlanta has erased a double-digit deficit in each of its past three games, marking the first time since March 3, 2021 to March 13, 2021 they’ve overcome three straight double-digit deficits to win, per Elias Sports Bureau.

Quotable

“I had one against, who did we just play, DC? They called it two, but in my head that was my first three. So once I got that one out the way I felt comfortable with the one shot tonight.” -- Okongwu said of his back to back 3-pointers.

Up next

The Hawks face the Thunder on Monday in Oklahoma City.