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ATLANTA – It took an extra five minutes, but the Atlanta Hawks escaped with their sixth-straight win on Friday night, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 134-132 in overtime. In the final seconds, Trae Young was left wide open for the go-ahead three-pointer, and LeBron James came down the court and missed his three, giving the Hawks the win.
In what has been a big two weeks for De'Andre Hunter, he was the one who was doubled in the last seconds, which left Young open. When Young was asked about his game-winning shot, he directed all the attention to Hunter instead.
“First off, what about De’Andre Hunter? That dude’s been playing very well; he’s been leading us coming off the bench and just being ready to play these last six games,” Young said. “We’ve all had really good moments, and sometimes some bad moments in games, you just gotta tip your hat to Dre for these last six games on how he’s been playing coming off the bench ready. Tonight, he did a great job from beginning to end. That last play, he’s been so hot, I was trying to get him a shot. He still made the right play.”
During this winning streak, Young has taken more of a playmaking role, getting others involved while he takes a step back in scoring. Tonight, the Hawks needed all the points they could get from Young, and with Jalen Johnson in foul trouble early, the Hawks' point guard took over.
“Tonight, I felt like I needed to do more,” Young said. “Jalen got in foul trouble; they were calling some fouls. Sometimes, it felt like we were playing five versus eight, but we still fought through it. The fouls on us didn’t affect anybody. I just had to do more for my team tonight, and that’s what it needed and caused for us to win.”
Trae Young, De'Andre Hunter come up big for Hawks
Not only did Trae Young do what he needed to do to lead the Hawks to the win, but De'Andre Hunter continued his hot streak, finishing the game with 26 points. Hunter hit some big shots during the game, and he also got into a shouting match with LeBron James at one point, which may have given the team some much-needed energy to pull through with the win.
“I think we’re playing together,” Hunter said after the game. “We’re really sharing the ball. Trae being the head of the team. I think he had 20 assists tonight. Just having someone like that who can share the ball and having someone like [Jalen Johnson] who can also share the ball, that really helps the team. I think our energy and our spirit is high, and we’re just all confident in each other. You can see it out there.”
With the way Hunter has been playing, there have been talks that he could be in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation, but he's focused on other things.
“I hear it, but I’m not really worried about it, honestly,” Hunter said. “I’m just looking to play my game and help my team win. Whether I do get that award or I don’t, it doesn’t affect me in any way.”
Everything is working well for the Hawks right now as they ride a six-game winning streak, but head coach Quin Snyder just wants them to continue to play the way they are, regardless if it results in a win or loss.
“One thing about the NBA, every game is different,” Snyder said. “You’re home, you’re on the road, and the biggest thing we want to talk about is understand if you’re playing well, understand why you’re playing well. If you’re not, understand that too and get back to doing the things that are winning habits. That’s the emphasis for me and for our group. Just as much as the result, sometimes you can’t control the result. I’m glad it turned out the way it did tonight.”
