Star guard Trae Young dished half of the team’s assists as he has found ways to impact the game as the Hawks have shifted from him as their primary scorer. Young has aimed to trust his teammates this season and he’s looked to be more selective with his shots but his assist numbers have gone up as he continues to lead the league in assists per game and total assists.
“I mean, that’s what I’ve always doing,” Young said. “It’s nothing new with my shots still not going down and trust me when that starts falling, it’s a different ball game.
Young scored 12 points, had eight rebounds and had one steal to go with his 15 assists.
2. State Farm Arena welcomed back former guard Dejounte Murray, traded by the franchise to the Pelicans at the end of June. Murray missed the first meeting between the teams in November with a fractured hand.
Though the arena showed a tribute video at the first timeout of the game, the Hawks FanDuel 404 Crew showed that there was no love lost with Murray. The jeers, along with the defense of Dyson Daniels, hampered him offensively.
Murray averaged 14.8 points entering the game, but the Daniels-led Hawks defense held him to 2-of-15 shooting from the floor. He also had five rebounds, nine assists and five steals.
3. For the second time this season, Daniels shined against his former team. He got involved early, hitting his floaters down the lanes and converting plenty of dishes from Young.
Daniels scored 19 points, making 50% of his 16 shots from the floor.
But Hawks fans have gotten used to his elite defense and he made Murray’s ability to score difficult. Daniels got into the body of Murray, frustrating him at times. With six minutes to play in the game, Murray dribbled across half court and then Daniels picked up 29 feet from the basket. He herded Murray toward the sideline before shuffling his feet and holding the Pelicans guard there.
Murray tried to dribble out of the trap but Daniels relentlessly pursued the ball, trying to poke it away. Out of frustration, Murray turned and threw ball hard off Daniels’ feet to stop play.
Fans relished the matchup between Murray and Daniels and throughout the night the FanDuel 404 Crew chanted “Dyson’s better.”
The one time fans showed displeasure for Daniels was during the third quarter when he selected Gunna over Outkast in Hip-Hop bracket. Fans booed him and when the in-arena camera flashed
4. Forward De’Andre Hunter continued to produce a spark plug off the bench as the team encouraged him to play aggressively. Since his return on Nov. 15, he has averaged 14.4 points, scoring 20 or more points in five of 11 games. He put up a huge night on his 27th birthday, where he attacked the basket.
“We need him to be aggressive for us,” Young said. “Anytime he’s shooting, we all believe it’s gonna go in and he’s taking great shots. Nothing is forced and for him to come out here on his birthday, he could have took 20, 30 shots and we would’ve been alright with it.”
For the seventh time in eight games, Hunter knocked down over 50% of his shots from the floor. On Monday, he made eight of his 14 overall shots, including four 3-pointers.
Hunter hit his fourth 3 of the night, with 3:40 to play in the game and then turned, put up a 3 in the form of a pistol in Murray’s direction. It was reminiscent of a move Daniels made toward his former teammates on the Pelicans bench when the Hawks played them on Nov. 3.
5. The Hawks began this season with better starts to games but they struggled to finish quarters and games the way they wanted. Over the last five games, the Hawks have averaged 18 turnovers per game, though they’ve won the last four.
Stat to know
The Hawks swept the Pelicans this year for the first time since the 2020-21 season when they won on Apr. 2 at New Orleans and Apr. 6 at State Farm Arena.
Quotable
I think Trae Young can be 5-for-16 (and) I think other than few turnovers he played a really good game.” Quin Snyder on the Hawks winning despite Trae Young’s poor shooting.
Up Next
The Hawks head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Wednesday before returning home to face the Lakers.
