Trae Young scored 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Hawks (3-3) rallied to beat the Spurs, 108-100, Tuesday at State Farm Arena.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. Young is back with a vengeance. OK, so he only missed 1 ½ games with his right ankle sprain, but he made his presence known in Tuesday’s win. Young recorded six assists in the first quarter, which is the second-most in a quarter in his career (he had seven vs. the Nets Dec. 16 last season), but his scoring was slower to develop. He started out 0 for 8 from the field and had one point at halftime, but scored 28 points in the second half to help the team rally for the win, finishing with a double-double of 29 points (shooting 50% from 3-point range) and 13 assists, to go with two steals (16 of his points came in the fourth quarter alone). In the fourth, he hit DeAndre’ Bembry, cutting to the basket, with a no-look pass to go up by seven, hit Vince Carter with a behind-the-back pass a minute later and drained a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a 100-93 lead with 3:47 to play. Young said postgame that he’s not experiencing any pain in his ankle, which is a good sign moving forward.
2. Without power forward John Collins, who was suspended for 25 games by the league for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA anti-drug program, the Hawks were playing shorthanded. Coach Lloyd Pierce declared Jabari Parker as the "next man up" and he started in Collins' stead, finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds. Pierce on how the Hawks handled playing without Collins: "Everybody stepped up, that's one of the things that I talked about. Jabari was Jabari. I thought he played better in the Miami game. But he did what he did. What we needed him to do. ... This is going to be a team effort all the time, we're going to need everybody to do their job and impact the game when they're on the floor."
3. The Hawks showed some resiliency as they battled the Spurs, outscoring them 38-22 in the fourth quarter, after trailing 78-70 going into the fourth. Overall, the Hawks shot 39.6% in the first half (trailing by one at halftime) and 57.1% in the second half. Making 6 of 11 3-pointers in the fourth (compared to the Spurs’ 2 for 9) helped, as well.
4. Five offensive rebounds helped keep the ball in the Spurs’ hands in the third quarter, but the Hawks were able to limit that in the fourth, which helped them swing the game and then stay ahead. The Spurs grabbed one offensive rebound (and six defensive) in the fourth, with the Hawks tallying three offensive rebounds and nine defensive rebounds. Overall, the Hawks registered a season-high 48 rebounds, compared to the Spurs’ 41. “We’ll score points,” Pierce said. “We can’t trade baskets. We’re not capable of beating teams by trading baskets. We have to get stops and our defense was great and that allowed us to get out and run and play with confidence.”
5. After struggling to score in his first five games, rookie Cam Reddish seemed to find a rhythm on offense. Reddish went a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range, contributing 12 points, three rebounds and one assist. Entering Tuesday’s game, Reddish had made one 3-pointer and was shooting 20.9 percent from the field.
By the Numbers
20 (the amount of lead changes in the game)
Quotable
“I just slowed down. For me it was obviously getting back and trying to get back into a rhythm early in the game, it was kind of tough. Just trying to find my rhythm, trying to find my shot, and it just wasn’t going down in the first half.” (Trae Young on what changed for him from the first half to second half)
