Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks drives against Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half at State Farm Arena on March 17, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Todd Kirkland/Getty Images/AFP
Trae Young scored 25 points and made a key defensive play in the final minute to help the Atlanta Hawks defeat the visiting Golden State Warriors 127-119 in the NBA on Friday.
The Hawks led by four points when Young stole the ball from Stephen Curry and scored with 45.1 seconds left. Young then iced the game with two free throws.
Young finished with 12 assists to secure his 34th double-double, with six rebounds and a steal.
Trae Young (25 PTS, 12 AST) ices it with a CLUTCH steal and bucket 🥶@ATLHawks hold on at home for the win! pic.twitter.com/rnP7FGJQBv
— NBA (@NBA) March 18, 2023
The win earned Atlanta a split of the two-game season series. The Hawks, who lost in San Francisco in double-overtime on Jan. 2, have won the last four games between the teams in Atlanta.
Atlanta (35-35) got 22 points from John Collins and 19 from Onyeka Okongwu. Atlanta extended its streak of 100-plus games to 45, the longest active streak in the league and two away from matching the second-longest streak in franchise history, which dates back to 1962.
Curry led Golden State (36-35) with 31 points, and Kevon Looney racked up his 12th double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The Warriors have lost 10 straight road games.
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts during the first half against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on March 17, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Todd Kirkland/Getty Images/AFP
“Proud of our guys effort, we had our chances and had several shots in the last couple of minutes but just couldn’t get anything to go,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the loss.
“These guys are fighting. I believe in them and I believe something good’s going to happen with this group. We’ve just got to keep fighting and keep moving forward,” added Kerr, brushing off suggestions that the Warriors’ problems away from home were psychological.
“It’s not mental,” Kerr said. “We’ve been playing well… but it’s hard to win on the road in this league. And we’re just not getting it done.”
The Warriors jumped out to a 16-4 lead, only to have Atlanta roar back behind Collins’ 17 first-quarter points. The Hawks took the lead for the first time at 29-27 and led 39-31 after the opening quarter. Atlanta shot 52.8 percent in the first half and led 71-66.
Atlanta outscored Golden State 14-7 to start the second half and took a 12-point lead on Clint Capela’s dunk at the 8:34 mark. The Hawks led 104-96 entering the fourth quarter.
The Warriors got as close as one point with 2:12 remaining but were outscored 7-0 from there.
Atlanta played without Jalen Johnson (left hamstring tightness). Golden State was missing Andre Iguodala (left wrist fracture) and Draymond Green, who served a suspension after receiving his 16th technical foul for throwing a ball at Russell Westbrook’s head on March 15.
Golden State plays the third leg of its five-game road trip at Memphis on Saturday. Atlanta plays on Sunday in San Antonio.