Trae Young Drops Career-High 49 as Hawks Fall to Bulls 168-161 in 4OT Thriller
The Chicago Bulls came out on top over the Atlanta Hawks 168-161 in a quadruple-overtime affair at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Friday night. It marks the first time since Dec. 7, 2006, per the Associated Press' Tim Reynolds, that a team has scored at least 150 points in a loss.
Getting there was a wild ride. Hawks rookie point guard Trae Young hit a three-pointer with just over three seconds to play in regulation, which appeared to be the winning shot before Bulls forward Otto Porter Jr. was fouled while shooting a three. When the dust settled, ESPN noted the game wound up being the third-highest scoring game in NBA history.
Porter, who tied his career high with seven threes in the game and ended with 31 points, made all of his free throws with .4 seconds left and sent the game to overtime.
Young opened the first overtime period with a 27-footer beyond the arc and ended it by going coast-to-coast on a layup to tie the game at 140, forcing a second overtime.
Young was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for February and is the only rookie in the Eastern Conference with multiple 30-plus-point games. Four of his six such games have come after the All-Star break with back-to-back 36-point games entering Friday night's matchup.
In this Hawks loss, Young continued that streak with a career-high 49 points along with 16 assists and eight rebounds. The No. 5 overall pick led all scorers.
Zach LaVine led all Bulls with 47 points, also a career high, including the layup that ultimately put the game out of reach for the Hawks. The point guard led the Bulls on the season with 23.2 points per game coming into this game. Forward Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points, his 12th game in a row with at least 20 points.
Trae Young Making Late, Compelling ROY Push
Young's 49-point game Friday night is the latest in a string of on-fire performances the 20-year-old has turned in since play resumed from the All-Star break Feb. 22. Many jaw-dropping statistics surfaced during the nearly four-hour game Friday night, and most of them pertained to Young.
According to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner, Young joined only Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson as rookies in NBA history to have three consecutive games with 35-plus points and at least five assists.
However, it's his comparison to the rookie that the Hawks traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Young that is most compelling. The Hawks drafted forward Luka Doncic at No. 3 overall before immediately trading him to Dallas for Young.
During the game, Marc Stein of the New York Times posed a question that seems to be gaining a clearer answer with each passing game: "What if Dallas AND Atlanta got the guy they wanted in the 2018 NBA Draft?"
Like Young in the Eastern Conference, Doncic was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February, his fourth month in a row winning the honor. This season, Doncic is averaging 20.9 points per game along with 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.
Doncic also became the second teenager in NBA history to post a triple-double. He has three triple-doubles total this season with two of them coming in February.
Doncic has been the clear Rookie of the Year for much of this season, but since the All-Star break, the race is turning into a two-man conversation with Young taking an edge one 30-plus-point game at a time.
Larger than whoever takes home the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year is what the Hawks can do moving forward with Young paired alongside 21-year-old 2018 first-round pick John Collins. It's Collins, not Young, who leads the Hawks in points (and rebounds) per game this season.
Prior to losing to Chicago on Friday, the Hawks beat Minnesota on Wednesday. In that game, Young and Collins became the first teammates 21 years old or younger to score 30 points since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook did it for Oklahoma City in 2010.
The real conversation will be in the years to come as Young and Collins continue to develop and Doncic takes the court alongside former No. 4 overall pick Kristaps Porzingis. Perhaps the Hawks or Mavericks—or both, who knows—will be able to win what Durant and Westbrook couldn't together: a championship.
What's Next?
The Bulls and Hawks will play each other one last time this season in Chicago on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. EST.
.png?w=600 "New Mock with Lottery Odds Locked In 🔮")