Hawks get hot in second half, rout Pistons behind Young’s big night

The Atlanta Hawks won their second game in a row on Friday evening against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, 136-112.

Trae Young led all scorers with 36 points and 12 assists as he continues to get better each game, and Dejounte Murray finished with 26 points, four rebounds, and five assists. For the Detroit Pistons, Cade Cunningham had himself a night with 25 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, and Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 22 points.

These two teams played on Wednesday and it came down to the last minutes of the fourth quarter to decide a winner. It was the Hawks that came out victorious, as they buckled down on defense and made some crucial stops to put the Pistons away 118-113.

Going into Friday night’s game, it looked like this game could go the same exact way. The first half was a back-and-forth battle between both teams, as neither could seem to get a stop. Young continued his impressive play, knocking down the deep ball, getting into the paint, and finding open teammates. He finished the first half with 23 points and seven assists, as the Hawks went into halftime with a 69-67 lead.

It was the third quarter that changed everything in the game, as the Hawks went on a run to pull away from the Pistons early, and from there, they couldn't recover. Here’s a look at a few of the plays that ultimately put the game out of reach.

With the Hawks down two early in the third, DeAndre Hunter found his way into the paint and kicked it out to Young for an open deep three. Young is clearly dangerous when he has the ball in his hands, but playing off the ball is something that the Hawks want to see more of this season:

Young returned the favor to Hunter a few players later and found him on a beautiful cross-court pass in the corner pocket:

Murray got deep in his duffle bag on this play. He gets to his spot, backs down Saddiq Bey, and knocks down a Dirk Nowitzki-esqe turnaround jumper:

More good things started happening for the Hawks on offense as the third quarter went on, and you know it’s going to be a long night for the opposing team when Young is stepping into his deep threes with confidence:

For about a minute and a half down the stretch of the third quarter, it was the Aaron Holiday show. He scored on three straight possessions for the Hawks and gave them just what they needed from the second unit:

In this play, Hold beats Bey off the dribble and is able to finish in the lane for an easy layup:

Just like Young had been doing all night, he finds Holiday for an easy three on the break:

Not only was Holiday big for the Hawks, but Onyeka Okongwu had his best game of the season with 16 points and seven rebounds. He did most of his work in the second quarter to keep the game tight.

This was probably the best game that the Hawks have played so far this season, and thanks to Young’s performance and help from the bench, it was smooth sailing in the fourth quarter as Murray was the only starter to play minutes. The Hawks finished the game shooting 57% from the field, 41% from three, and had 31 assists.

The Hawks are now 4-1 and head to Milwaukee to face the undefeated Bucks. It should be a good one.