Trae Young starred in a 123-110 Atlanta Hawks victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Young scored 35 points with 12 assists. It is a good stat line, but what makes it historic is Young’s production at the free throw line. He scored 21 of his 35 points off of free throws. He did not miss a single one. He shot 21-of-21 at the free-throw line. This makes him the first player in NBA history to have 30 or more points, 10 or more assists, and 20 or more free throws without missing a shot. The Hawks improved to 32-34 with the win.
Trae Young’s Performance
Young’s 35-point, 12-assist game is not a rarity this season. He is one of the NBA’s leaders in assists, and even though his scoring has been down compared to previous years, he can still light it up on any given night. But against the Hornets, his shooting was inefficient. Young shot 7-of-20 from the field and 0-of-5 from three. Most of his buckets came from floaters and push shots in the paint. Without the free throws, he would have only scored 14 points. But Young managed to get to the line and made all 21 of his free throws.
The star point guard kept the Hawks out front for most of the game. Once they took the lead in the first quarter, they did not look back. Atlanta won every quarter and pulled ahead in the second half. Much of this was due to Young’s performance with other players contributing. Caris LeVert had 15 points off the bench with four three-pointers. Young was the focal point of the offense, scoring and assisting while taking advantage of every free throw attempt.
Fans may be quick to criticize Young for relying on free throws to score, but he has put up similar stat lines all season. His scoring and assists are what earned him an All-Star bid. His gravity opens up many different pathways for the Atlanta offense. Even if he is having an inefficient shooting night, he can still impact the game by distributing to his teammates and getting to the free-throw line.
The Hawks’ Playoff Hopes
With their 123-110 victory, the Hawks improved to 32-34 on the season. They have won all three of their matchups against the Hornets and are winners of four consecutive games. They currently hold the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a two-game lead over the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic. Atlanta has had their struggles this season, losing Jalen Johnson to injury, but if they can make it out of the play-in tournament, Young and company could give the top seeds major problems in the first round.
If the current standings were to hold up, the Hawks would face the Boston Celtics in the first round. Atlanta won the season series against the Celtics 2-1. Boston blew them out in their first meeting, but the Hawks beat them in the NBA Cup without Young and beat them again in an overtime thriller.
If they drew the eighth seed, they would play the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks have also beaten Cleveland multiple times, but this matchup is also interesting because of Deandre Hunter switching teams at the deadline. No matter who Atlanta draws, they are sure to make things interesting in a series.
Final Thoughts
Young’s tremendous performance gave the Hawks their fourth consecutive win and made NBA history. Young had 35 points and 12 assists, but his 21 free throws were the most jarring. Young helped the Hawks improve to 32-34 on the season and will look to lead them to a spot in the NBA Playoffs.
