“No matter if we’re down or up, we’re always going to fight” - Trae Young on Atlanta Hawks' 26-point comeback win in Game 5 over Philadelphia 76ers | 2021 NBA Playoffs
Trae Young led the Atlanta Hawks to a shocking 109-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in an entertaining Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series.
The Atlanta Hawks battled back from a 26-point deficit thanks to Trae Young. The 22-year-old scored 39 points to give his team the victory on Wednesday for a 3-2 series lead.
“We kept fighting,” Young said in the postgame interview with NBA on TNT. “I’ve been saying it all year. I’ve been saying it all playoffs. We keep fighting. No matter what the score is, no matter if we’re down or up, we’re always going to fight and I’m proud of this team. We keep fighting.”
The Atlanta Hawks were down 87-69 heading into the fourth quarter with the game exceedingly looking out of their reach. But Lou Williams came off the bench to score 13 quick points to rally his team back. His 3-pointer with 6:11 to play cut the lead to 11 points.
Trae Young took over from there and scored 11 points to finish off the Sixers for their second straight comeback win from a double-digit deficit.
The third-year guard also spoke about their team’s fighting spirit during the post-game interview with reporters.
"When you talk about underdogs, for a team that has no All-Stars, no All-Defensive players, no All-NBA players, this team is fighting,” Young said. “We're in the 2nd round of the playoffs and I think we've just had that chip on our shoulder all year of being overlooked."
Trae Young and Atlanta Hawks have two chances to reach Eastern Conference Finals
The Atlanta Hawks have a chance to close out the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 which will be played on their home court on Friday. Trae Young remained cautious knowing that a win isn’t a guarantee, but he’s grateful that they have fans cheering them on.
"We haven't finished the job yet... Thankfully we're going back home playing in front of our fans and on our court," Young said.
He also spoke about their mentality as underdogs.
"... Just having that underdog mentality, we're playing with that chip on our shoulder right now and guys are continuing to do that," Young added. "We need to keep it up."
If they don’t win Friday’s game, the Atlanta Hawks have to come back to the Sixers’ home floor in order to finish the job in Game 7. They will look to avoid such a scenario and seal the contest in front of their home crowd.
An Atlanta Hawks win in this series will be their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2015. The fact that this is Trae Young’s first playoffs experience makes his efforts in the Hawks' run even more remarkable.
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