SALT LAKE CITY -- Hawks guard Trae Young was as cool as ice, as usual.
Jazz guard Collin Sexton tied the game, leaving 2.9 seconds on the clock. But Young showed that might be too much time for him. After getting a Dyson Daniels pass, Young raced up court and pulled up at half-court to ice the game with a 50-foot jumper. The Hawks downed the Jazz 124-121 on Tuesday night at the Delta Center in the penultimate game of a long road trip.
“That’s a shot that’s like 50-50, especially for some people who practice it all the time, it’s not a high percentage shot,” Young said. “But thankfully, we were tied in the game.”
Here are five observations:
1. Young continued to show why he has been the NBA’s best facilitator this season. He continued to whip the ball around the court, committing just two turnovers in the process. He dished 20 assists, finding teammates in a variety of ways including down the stretch.
“I feel like, I’m a kind of guy that can pass you open,” said Young, who also had 24 points. “You don’t have to just be open for me to get you the ball, and can kind of see things and kind of get you into a good spot, maybe to shoot a layup or get-open three.”
He found Bogdan Bogdanovic for 3 with 3:42 to play to put the Hawks up before turning around and hitting a 3 that put them ahead. Then he found De’Andre Hunter for assist number 20 with 1:57 to play, then drew a charge off of Lauri Markkanen that took the ball out of the Jazz’s hands on a key possession.
2. Markkanen earlier hit shot after shot, helping to erase a 14-point Hawks lead in the first quarter. His two early 3s sparked a 15-5 Jazz run that brought them within two points.
The Finnish forward entered the night making just five 3-pointers over his previous three games but he needed just one half to equal that. Markkanen scorched the Hawks, going 5-of-7 from 3 in the first half to score 24 of his 35 points.
Markkanen pulled up, hit shots off the dribble or simply caught and shot it from the wing when the ball swung his way. It did not seem to matter who contested his shot, Markkanen found the bottom of the bucket. The Jazz forward’s explosion from deep powered the team’s ability to keep pace with the Hawks, who kept them out of the paint but not off the 3-point line.
3. Hawks center Clint Capela has had his hands full with some big centers as of late. On Tuesday, even with a 7-foot Walker Kessler in front of him, Capela used his experience to his advantage. Capela scored 18 points and had six rebounds, with a couple of big dunks down the stretch to anchor the Hawks against one of the league’s top shot blockers in Kessler.
“I don’t think people realize sometimes some of the interior passes, those are hard passes to catch, and then just go up, in a fluid motion,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “And if you don’t go up, now, you’re trying to score over the top of Kessler, and that’s hard to do too.”
“It’s really instinct,” Capela said. “I’m just gonna have to go hard at the rim, and then I was able to do it at a high level tonight and have the win on top of that, it feels even better.”
4. Onyeka Okongwu blocked a season-high four shots, disrupting the Jazz’s ability to attack the rim. The Hawks center did not see his shots fall until 9:56 remained in the game but he gave the team strong reinforcement off the bench.
5. The Hawks saw the return of Bogdanovic to the lineup after he missed the previous game to manage the left lower leg contusion that kept him out of five of the previous seven games.
Though Bogdanovic hasn’t shot the ball the way Hawks fans have gotten used to, he hit several key ones in Tuesday’s game, including a go-ahead triple that put the Hawks up 113-112 with 3:24 to play.
Bogdanovic’s presence on the floor opened up lanes for the Hawks to get to the basket, helping them to shoot 56.8% on their twos.
Stat to know
3 -- Trae Young’s game-winner at the buzzer is the third of his career.
Quotable
“My team made some shots tonight and got to good spots. So, I never take full credit for assists.” -- Trae Young on how assists give his team confidence.
Up next
The Hawks wrap their 13-day, six-game West Coast road trip on Thursday against the Suns in Phoenix.
About the Author
