Hawks absconded with the victory with Trae Young having another 35+point performance
Trae Young led Hawks to their second consecutive victory by scoring eight of his total 36 points down the stretch and they handed Memphis Grizzlies their second loss at home.
Kevin Huerter added 21 points, De’Andre Hunter had 15 points and rookie Nathan Knight had a great performance with 14 points, going 4 of 5 from the field and 2-for-3 shooting from 3-point range.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 28 points and seven assists, and Kyle Anderson finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
“For the most part, I think we did a pretty good job at that. We tried to turn a lot of them into shooters,” Huerter elaborated on what they were trying to do throughout the game to not give away easy baskets in transition, and later adding: “Trying to keep them out of the paint, and we did our thing offensively.”
Ja Morant and Trae Young started the season with significant performances: Morant had a career-high 44 points in a home loss to the San Antonio Spurs, while Young notched up 37 points against the Chicago Bulls.
Young had a difficult time knocking down shots in the first half, but in the first two minutes of the second half he scored 10 points.
“I think shots just went down,” Young said of the second half. “I was getting some really good looks in that first half. Shots just weren’t going in. For all of us. … I think we got the rust off (in the first half) and played really well as far as scoring throughout the rest of the game.”
“We’re both young talents trying to be the face of the league,” Morant said. “We’ve played against each other many times. … The sky’s the limit for (Young).”
NEXT GAMES
Hawks will host the Detroit Pistons on Monday, while Grizzlies will travel to Brooklyn to face the formidable duo Irving-Durant.