Trae Young's Double-Double Leads Hawks to Win over Karl-Anthony Towns, T-Wolves
The Atlanta Hawks continue to turn around their season with a 123-120 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Trae Young had 16 points and 11 assists Friday at the Target Center, including six points in overtime, helping the Hawks (10-24) win for the fourth time in the last five games. The team also has three straight road wins after starting the year 2-14 away from home.
Atlanta blew a double-digit second half lead after scoring 71 points before halftime, but the squad was able to recover for the hard-fought win.
Andrew Wiggins missed on multiple chances to tie the game at the free-throw line, finishing 5-of-12 at the charity stripe for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves fell to 16-19 despite 31 points and 19 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns, and they are now just 5-8 in December.
Trae Young's Passing Keeps His Upside High Despite Inconsistency
There has been plenty of criticism for Young during his rookie season, with his inconsistency and lack of efficiency especially called into question. He entered the day shooting just 38.2 percent from the field, including 25.4 percent from three-point range.
However, one thing that has kept his value high is his vision and passing ability, which was especially on display Friday as he finished with 11 dimes.
The guard had eight assists in the first half alone while helping the Hawks score an incredible 71 points with a 12-point lead at the half.
He also turned heads with several of his passes:
Young is now averaging 7.4 assists per game this season, which could put him in rare territory at this level. In the last 10 years, only John Wall, Ben Simmons and Ricky Rubio averaged at least seven assists per game as rookies, per Basketball Reference.
This passing ability keeps the offense running smoothly, even when the shots aren't falling.
Meanwhile, opponents will eventually adjust to his style of play, which could provide more openings for him as a scorer.
That changed seemed to happen during the game, as he got more looks and gained more confidence while finishing 7-of-11 from the field. He put his team ahead with under two minutes left in overtime with his first three-point attempt of the game:
The Hawks never gave up the lead after that shot.
As opponents adjust, Young will continue to look more like the shooter we saw at Oklahoma. He is also shooting only six percent of his threes from the pick-and-roll, per Zach Lowe of ESPN. His numbers could improve with more open looks on these plays.
This could be enough to make him the star-level player the Hawks expected on draft day.
Although his defense remains a problem as well as the turnovers, Young has shown enough to believe he will play at an All-Star level for a long time.
Karl-Anthony Towns Can't Be Afraid to Carry Timberwolves Offense
Few players in the NBA can match up with Towns, but he doesn't always take advantage of his talent and unique skill set.
The center entered Friday as one of 27 qualified players in the league averaging 20 points per game, but he ranked dead last among those players with just 15.5 field-goal attempts per game.
Towns should be getting used like a superstar but instead will tend to disappear for long stretches of a game.
The Timberwolves trailed by 15 points to the Hawks after the first quarter, and Towns had only taken three field goals at that point. He got more involved from there, doing damage on his own with some big dunks in the third quarter:
This performance helped Minnesota turned a 12-point deficit at halftime into a tie game going into the fourth quarter before the squad eventually lost in overtime.
Derrick Rose (25 points and nine assists) and Robert Covington (28 points) each had big games for the Wolves as well, but Towns was the catalyst for the turnaround. It's only too bad he couldn't see the ball more often in overtime.
After finishing with 20 points and 20 rebounds in a win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, it's clear the center is in an impressive stretch. The team needs him to keep it going, even if it means forcing shots on offense. He is Minnesota's best weapon and has the ability to carry the squad to wins.
All he needs in the confidence and the green light to make it happen.
What's Next?
The Timberwolves will go right back on the road with a matchup against the Miami Heat on Sunday. The Hawks have a winnable matchup at home Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
