ICYMI: Trae Young comes through in the clutch, hits difficult game-winning floater against Miami Heat to make the series 2-1 for the playoffs
Trae Young lived up to his nickname on Friday night. 'Ice Trae' came through in the clutch as he hit the game-winning bucket to give his Atlanta Hawks the first win of their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat.
Young finished the game with 24 points, and eight assists as Atlanta extended the best-of-seven series to at least five games.
Young's big bucket came when his team was trailing by one point (109-110) in the final 15 seconds of the fourth quarter.
With Jimmy Butler missing from mid-range, Young rebounded the ball and ran down the court. He passed by his primary defender, PJ Tucker, and knocked down a gentle floater over the outstretched arms of Butler with 4.4 seconds left in the contest.
The basket proved to be enough as Butler could not score from a long-range attempt at the final buzzer.
TRAE WINS IT FOR THE ATL HAWKS 🧊
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Young's crunch-time bucket helped the Hawks overcome a 16-point deficit to win the game 111-110. Atlanta also finished the final quarter outscoring their opponents 34-25 in the final 12 minutes. The ace point guard scored 10 of his 24 points in this final period.
Game 4 between the two teams will once again be played in Atlanta on Sunday night.
@TheTraeYoung led the 4th quarter comeback for the @ATLHawks before hitting the GAME WINNER in the game's closing moments!❄ @TheTraeYoung led the 4th quarter comeback for the @ATLHawks before hitting the GAME WINNER in the game's closing moments!
24 PTS | 4 REB | 8 AST
Game 4: HEAT/HAWKS Sun. 7:00pm/et on TNT
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Trae Young keeps Atlanta Hawks' playoff aspirations alive
The 23-year-old Trae Young kept the Atlanta Hawks' playoff chances alive as no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in NBA postseason history.
It wasn't a particularly efficient shooting night for Young (6-of-14 from the field, 2-of-6 from downtown). However, his final basket of the game ensured that the Hawks did not fall behind irreversibly in the series.
Trae Young
Ice Trae
Ballgame 🧊 https://t.co/6PwMQwFb0X
The Atlanta Hawks will go as far as Young takes them in the 2022 postseason. Last year, the two-time All-Star had an incredible playoffs as he powered his team to the Eastern Conference Finals on the back of his 28.8 ppg and 9.5 apg.
The Hawks eventually lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. However, with Young playing four of the six games in the series, Atlanta fans were left wondering how the team would have fared had he not suffered an ankle injury.
Young is averaging 19.0 PPG and 6.3 APG while shooting only 37.0% from the field and 17.4% from downtown in the current playoffs versus Miami. He is also averaging 6.3 turnovers per game.
"That's how you win." - @LeaderOfHorde https://t.co/6txWdoMPWd