Trae Young couldn’t have expected this one to go in.
It was a last-ditch, fully contested heave from just shy of the half-court line, after all.
But, thanks to some last second heroics, Young and the Atlanta Hawks are headed home from Salt Lake City with a win.
Young powered the Hawks to a wild 124-121 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night with one of the most ridiculous shots of his career. Young’s shot was only half of the finish at the Delta Center. Collin Sexton hit a contested 3-pointer from the wing of his own after a scramble for the ball on the other end, which tied the game up and should’ve sent it to overtime. The Hawks were out of timeouts, and Young had only seconds to work with.
But Young immediately pushed the ball up the floor and launched one over Cody Williams. It was perfect, and the Jazz were left absolutely stunned.
Young finished with a team-high 24 points and 20 assists in the win, which pushed the Hawks to 19-18 on the year. The 3-pointer was just his third of the night, too.
Clint Capela added 18 points in the win for Atlanta, and De’Andre Hunter finished with 17 points off the bench. All but two of the Hawks players to saw the court finished in double figures, and they shot 48% from the field as a team. The win snapped a three-game losing skid.
Lauri Markkanen led all scorers with 35 points for the Jazz after he drained eight 3-pointers on the night. Sexton finished with 24 points and four rebounds, and Walker Kessler finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Jazz, at 9-26 on the season, have lost six of their last eight.
The Hawks will wrap up a six-game road trip on Thursday night with a matchup against the Phoenix Suns.
