The Hawks have done it. After a season much more suffered than enjoyed, Atlanta can now say that it is a playoff team once more; yes, they have achieved it with difficulties and to see their faces with the first seed: the Miami Heat.
In a sometimes tortuous road, the last obstacle to overcome has been the Cavaliers. It wasn’t easy. Despite the fact that the Ohioans are one of the teams hardest hit by injuries, just having those casualties and overcoming them has toughened them up to be a difficult group to beat. Last night was no less, but Trae Young’s talent ended up deciding.
The All-Star point guard of the Georgians went up to 38 points and, what is more important, he achieved 16 of those same ones in the last quarter of the match (32 in the second half), when the games are defined. He was essential for Atlanta. The final 12 minutes, as usual, were full of tension, and among the general failure, Young signed 16 of his team’s 23 points to conclude the night with a remarkable 13 of 25 from the field.
“Trae has a lot of confidence in his game, his ability and he always continues to believe in what he does. I didn’t see any panic in him. He came out in the second half and stayed aggressive. The shots started coming in. It was the same shots he was making in the first half, only in the second half they started going in,” says McMillan, head coach of the Hawks.
In a difficult night from 3-point range for Atlanta, Young had the fantastic collaboration of Bogdan Bogdanovic from the bench, who had up to 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting (2-for-3 from 3-point range). Trae understands that what they have achieved in Cleveland shows that they are a team that never gives up. “We mind our own business. This is a testament to our team and how they continue to fight until the job is done.”
Bickerstaff satisfied
Cleveland has not achieved the goal of being in the postseason, but they do not believe that the course has not helped them grow. Quite the contrary. JB Bickerstaff is hurt from losing last night, but equally understands that going from 22 wins to 44 is a big step and that the team’s future might be bright. “We are going in the right direction, I am sure. We achieved many things this year », he expresses.
Returning to the game, the Cavs got Jarrett Allen back, but the center was far from his pre-injury level to have 11 points and 3 rebounds. The top scorer was Lauri Markkanen with 26 points and 6 of 12 triples. Darius Garland, for his part, had 21 points with a hard 9 of 27 shooting from the field. The season hasn’t ended the way the Cavs wanted, but no one can deny the great job they’ve done.
(Photo by Rick Osentoski/Getty Images)