Hawks fans held their collective breath last night as they watched Trae Young fall to the floor in pain late in the 2nd quarter of last night’s win over the Cavaliers before he was helped to the locker room with a groin injury.
The exhale occurred at the start of the second half when Young returned to the floor and showed no sign of the injury. He then proceeded to score 14 of his his 30 total points in the 3rd quarter as he led the Hawks to a significant 131-107 win over Cleveland—a win that secured a spot in the NBA play-in tournament and moved Atlanta into a 3-way tie for the 8-seed in the East.
The voice of the Hawks, Steve Holman, was among those who feared Young’s night may have ended early, but postgame, the Hawks’ superstar guard says Holman should know better by now.
“You don’t know I’m different by now? I’m going to fight through it,” he told Holman.
With the same record as the Nets and Hornets, the Hawks control their own destiny in relation to the 8th seed with five games remaining in the regular season—perhaps none more important than Saturday’s matchup with Brooklyn at home.
The Hawks will aim for a different result this time around against the Nets after suffering a 117-108 loss to Kevin Durant and company early in the season.
