Coming into Boston, for the first of two games against the Celtics in three days, the Hawks had lost eight of their last 10, having started out 9-8.
Trae Young had had enough.
Despite his early struggles, he went off for 40 points on an efficient 14-of-20 shooting from the field while also dishing out eight assists in the 122-114 win.
Trae Young tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 18, 2021
40 PTS
8 AST
4 3PT
14-20 FG
He becomes the 5th player in NBA history with 15+ 40-point games before turning 23 — joining LeBron, Durant, Shaq and Rick Barry. pic.twitter.com/mVLQveyWif
The game went back-and-forth through the first 15 minutes but once the Hawks took the lead, they never looked back.
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They led the rest of the way but were under threat when the Celtics brought the deficit to just four with 7:26 remaining. That's when 'Ice' Trae took over.
Over the remainder of the game, the Hawks outscored the hosts 25-21 and Young was responsible for 18 of those points, scoring 16 of those.
Trae puts the 🌧 in 🌈. pic.twitter.com/JVFm7ky5CN
— FOX Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnFSSE) February 18, 2021
YESSSSIR TRAE 🥶 pic.twitter.com/NkS1inFrW0
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 18, 2021
Despite the Hawks' recent run of events, Young who has been dishing out 9.3 assists per game, matching his career-best mark and good for fourth in the league this season, has been balling for the Hawks in 2020-21 season, at least as per the advanced stats.
While on the floor, through 26 games this season, he averages a plus-minus of +3.4 - a huge jump from his -3.8 through 60 games last season. His 2.9 win shares, although 29th, rank him higher than some key rotation players on the league's best teams such as the Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell, and the 76ers' duo of Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris.
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