Trae Young scored 32 of his 38 total points in the second half on Friday to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 107-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament.
Atlanta trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half before cutting the deficit to 10 points at halftime. Young had only six points at the intermission but fueled a monstrous run in the second half to lead the Hawks back and claim the win and the eighth seed.
Young produced 16 points in the third and fourth quarters as Atlanta outscored Cleveland 56-40 in the second half. Behind an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter, Young & Co. took their largest lead of the game at nine points and were able to hang on the rest of the way.
The Hawks will face the Miami Heat in the first round on Sunday.
Lauri Markkanen led the Cavaliers with 26 points and eight rebounds while Darius Garland had 21 points and nine assists. Rookie of the Year front-runner Evan Mobley added 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
The loss capped off a disappointing finish to the season for the Cavaliers after sitting as high as third in the East. They were then battered by injuries and went 10-17 the rest of the way to drop down to eighth and a trip to the play-in tournament.
With the contest taking over front and center, several players from around the NBA were watching and tweeting along throughout the game. They provided some great reactions to the Hawks pulling out the win.
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