Wednesday 6 November 2019 09:07, UK
Trae Young returned from injury with 29 points and 13 assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Young scored 28 of his points in the second half as the Hawks moved past the suspension of John Collins to snap a three-game losing streak.
Young, returning after missing one game with a right ankle sprain, put on a series of dazzling moves in the fourth quarter to help his team overcome the loss of Collins, who was suspended earlier in the day for 25 games without pay for a violation of the NBA's anti-drug program after testing positive for a growth hormone.
"Everybody stepped up in a big way," Young said. "Like I say, we're going to miss John. He's a big piece of our team. It's not easy, but they did a great job. We've just got to take it game by game, but we did a good job today."
During the final period, Young put on a dribbling display that stopped Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge cold, then zipped a brilliant pass from the right-side perimeter to a cutting DeAndre' Bembry for a dunk that put the Hawks up 95-88 with 4:52 remaining.
"I cut to the rim as he was looking for someone to do," Bembry said. "It was perfect timing. It was a great pass, a hell of a pass, and just made two points."
The crowd roared again after Young fell backward while hitting a three-pointer from the right corner to make it 104-96 with 2:11 remaining. It was a stark contrast from the first two quarters when Young was 0-for-8 from the field.
"He was cold in the first half and probably getting some rust off a little bit, I would imagine, but the second half he was great," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
"He played confidently, whether he was driving it for little runners or shooting the three. He did a great job."
Click the video at the top of the page to watch highlights from Young's 29-point, 13-assist performance.
