Hawks fall to Heat despite historic night from Trae Young

Then Dyson Daniels stripped Haywood Highsmith, deflecting the ball into Young’s hands. Young dribbled down court and pulled up for a 3 from 29 feet. But Herro answered with a dagger on the other end calling for a switch onto Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu before pulling up from the logo and rattling in a 3.

Young’s answered on the other end and the Heat clamped down, with a midrange jumper from Andrew Wiggins. Though the Hawks pulled the game back within two possessions with a 3 from Caris LeVert, Herro found Davion Mitchell for a 3 to ice the game for the Heat.

“Our margin is not that great,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “And that’s what happened in the first quarter. We’re able to get stops and we’re able to run, and that’s the key for us. But it starts with the defensive end. And, they shot it well again, shot it really well. We have to make some of those shots harder and less open and better contested.”

2. Though not the only end result the Hawks wanted, Young made history for the umpteenth time Thursday becoming the youngest player in NBA history to score 12,000 points and have 4,500 assists.

He made career point number 12,000 with 1:45 in the first quarter, driving in from the perimeter with Heat guard Pelle Larsson defending him. Young called for a screen from Hawks center Dominick Barlow and regained his dribble toward the baseline. Then he pulled up for a jumper 17 feet from the basket.

He scored 10 points in the first quarter, helping to get the Hawks out to a 10-point lead by the end of the first 12 minutes.

“It’s an incredible accomplishment and I think he’s gonna continue to do what he does, and he’s gonna get a lot more records,” Hawks wing Vit Krejci said.

3. Young didn’t stop there even after the Heat began to send double after double to trap him at half court to get the ball out of his hands. He remained patient getting to his spots or confidently pulled up and hit some long 3s.

The Hawks guard’s final two triples of the night came from nearly half court, with Young making 30-foot and 29-foot jumpers consecutively.

Though Young pulled up and hit some early jumpers in the shot clock, he did so efficiently just like he has over the last six games. It’s the fourth time in six games that has shot the ball 50% or better from deep.

He finished Thursday’s game with 29 points (the most he has scored against the Heat this season), 12 assists and two steals.

4. After starting Mouhamed Gueye for the last 18 games, the Hawks made a starting lineup change. They opted to start Krejci, looking to get out to a strong offensive start. The Hawks made seven of their first 10 field goals with four of those makes coming from 3.

Krejci made two of those triples in the Hawks’ push toward a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter.

“We wanted to play fast, and we knew that in a half court, they’ve shifted, and they got pretty good one-on-one defenders,” Krejci said.

5. Though the Hawks dropped Thursday’s game, they kept their half-game hold on the seventh seed. The Magic fell to the Mavericks in their own game.

The Hawks and Magic sit two and 1.5 games respectively ahead of the Bulls to remain in the seventh and eighth seeds. But the Bulls have won four consecutive games, while the Heat is not much further behind after winning their last three.

Just nine games remain in the regular season.

Stat to know

15 - Hawks have knocked down 15 3-pointers as a team in five consecutive games, tying a season-long streak.

Quotable

“I think just attacking it as if it’s a man, not necessarily letting it slow us down, finding the paint, finding the middle, moving the ball, doing the same concepts we use against man (defense). I think when we get tripped up, sometimes we overthink it, and I think we’re at our best we’re just free flowing.” Caris LeVert on how the team better handles a zone defense.

Up Next

The Hawks conclude their road trip in Milwaukee with a game against the Bucks on Sunday.