NBA: Trae Young shoots 46 points, Hawks handle Blazers
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts after drawing a foul on a basket against the Indiana Pacers with Kevin Huerter #3 during the first half at State Farm Arena on March 13, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP
Trae Young scored 46 points and helped the Atlanta Hawks come back from a 15-point, third-quarter deficit for a 122-113 win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
The Hawks (34-34) climbed back to the .500 mark for the first time since mid-December.
Young, who had 47 points against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, sank five 3-pointers on Monday and shot 11-for-11 at the line. He had 12 assists and six rebounds as the Hawks won their third straight game.
Sheesh pic.twitter.com/rJcSFcuMqu
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 15, 2022
The Trail Blazers were up 73-58 early in the third quarter before Atlanta went on a 25-4 run. Young scored 21 in the period and the Hawks led 89-84 going into the fourth quarter.
The Hawks led by as many as 11 in the final period, but Portland cut the deficit to 113-111 with 1:48 left on a basket by Keon Johnson.
De’Andre Hunter hit a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a five-point lead, then blocked a shot at the other end that led to a Portland 24-second violation. Hunter followed with a driving layup, and the Trail Blazers never got closer than five points again.
Hunter scored 20 points, Kevin Huerter had 14 and Onyeka Okongwu contributed 12 for Atlanta.
Portland’s Josh Hart scored 31 points, with 25 of those coming in the first half as the Trail Blazers took a 67-58 lead into the break. Hart, who scored a career-high 44 on Saturday against the Washington Wizards, made 4 of 5 3-point attempts before halftime at Atlanta but went 0 of 2 from long distance in the second half.
Trendon Watford added 22 points and nine rebounds, Brandon Williams scored 20 points and Drew Eubanks amassed 16 points and 10 boards for Portland.
The Hawks led by as many as seven points in the first quarter, but the Trail Blazers closed the quarter by scoring seven straight points and a 34-29 lead.
Atlanta’s John Collins (sore right foot and sprained right ring finger) missed his second game in a row, and Danilo Gallinari sat out due to right Achilles soreness.
