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Twitter Hypes Dejounte Murray as Hawks' 'Best Player' Over Trae Young in Win vs. Heat
January 16, 2023
The Atlanta Hawks extended their winning streak to three games and are back to .500 (22-22) following Monday's 121-113 victory over the Miami Heat.
Atlanta dropped 70 points by halftime and led by as many as 26 points before slowly losing steam in the second half. The Hawks' lead dwindled to just five points inside the final two minutes before Dejounte Murray connected from deep with 1:36 on the clock.
The Heat continued to hang around, but Murray's three-pointer gave Atlanta enough of a buffer to hang on.
The 2022 All-Star had a team-high 28 points to go along with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. It was the kind of performance that demonstrated why the Hawks traded away multiple first-round picks to land Murray.
Trae Young finished with 24 points, eight assists and four steals but also turned the ball over 10 times.
In general, the Murray/Young tandem looked great, though some wondered whether the hierarchy has shifted a bit.
Whether Murray or Young is considered the top banana may not matter much when they're combining to score 52 points on 17-of-30 shooting, including 8-of-14 from beyond the arc.
This season hasn't gone according to plan for the Hawks. Even with their recent success, they're still ninth in the Eastern Conference, and they've had to deal with drama surrounding their head coach and best player.
Perhaps Atlanta is slowly starting to turn the corner. Games against the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks later this week provide two great opportunities for Nate McMillan's squad to prove just that.