Trae Young had 31 points and 10 assists to lead the Hawks to a 132-100 road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night.
Next up, the Hawks will host the New York Knicks on Saturday.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. The Hawks won their seventh straight, the best active streak in the Eastern Conference. They also scored their most points in a game this season. They scored 43 points in the third quarter, their most in a period this season. The previous high was 40 in the third quarter against Phoenix on Nov. 6.
2. Clint Capela finished with 23 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for the Hawks, while John Collins scored 21. Capela was 11-for-14 from the field. Young was 12 of 16 from the field, hitting three of his four 3-point attempts. Young’s 31 points marked the fourth straight game he scored at least 30 points.
AP
AP
John Konchar led Memphis with 17 points, all in the fourth quarter when both teams had gone to their reserves. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 14 for Memphis, while Dillon Brooks scored 12.
3. The Grizzlies lost star point guard Ja Morant to a left knee injury.
Morant left the game in the first quarter and did not return. He had missed his only shot and converted a pair of free throws for two points.
Morant, the second pick in the 2019 draft out of Murray State, is eighth in the NBA in scoring at 25.3 points a game. He also averages 7.1 assists.
4. The Hawks shot 56% in the first half, going 5 of 8 on 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Memphis struggled from the field, shooting only 39%.
The Hawks led 62-48 at the half behind 16 points from Young.
5. The second half was even better for the Hawks.
They opened the third quarter with a 26-4 run as Memphis missed its first 12 shots.
Hawks coach Nate McMillan said the Hawks offense got Memphis “into scramble defense.”
“We did a good job of moving the ball and getting the ball to the open guys,” McMillan said. “And our guys were knocking down shots.”
That stretched the Hawks’ lead to 36. The Hawks outscored Memphis 43-17 in the quarter, and the Grizzlies were on their way to their third loss in four games.
“I thought our defense was doing a really good job of making it hard for them to score,” McMillan said. “That third quarter, we kind of opened up things with limiting them to one shot and getting out in transition.”
Stat of the game: 699 (the win was Hawks coach Nate McMillan’s 699th career victory)
Star of the game: Young as usual, with 34 points and 10 assists
Quotable: “The Hawks played really, really well.” -- Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins
