ATLANTA — Trae Young had a career-high 50 points and the Atlanta Hawks scored the last 10 points of the game to beat the Miami Heat 129-124 Thursday night.
Young made 18 of 19 free throws and 8 of 15 3-pointers to set his scoring high in his first game after starting in the All-Star Game.
Young is the first Hawks player with a 50-point game since Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 2001.
Brandon Jennings, LeBron James (on three occasions) and Devin Booker are the only players to have scored 50 points at a younger age than Young in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Bam Adebayo had 28 points and a season-high 19 rebounds for Miami. Adebayo, the NBA All-Star skills champion, added seven assists.
Miami couldn’t hold a late 124-119 lead. After De’Andre Hunter’s tying 3-pointer, Cam Reddish scored with 31 seconds remaining following his steal from Goran Dragic to give the Hawks a 126-124 lead. Young’s two free throws increased the lead to four points.
Miami has lost five of its past six.
Kevin Huerter and Hunter each scored 17 points for Atlanta.
Young hit a jumper for Atlanta’s first field goal of the final period. On the Hawks’ next possession, Young’s dribble-fake had Andre Iguodala on his heels, and the guard then sank a long 3-pointer for a 97-all tie.
With Hawks fans still buzzing after watching Young’s fake move on replays during a timeout, Iguodala answered with back-to-back baskets, including a 3-pointer, as Miami reclaimed the lead.
Young wasn’t finished. He kept the Hawks close by scoring 14 of Atlanta’s first 18 points of the final period. Young’s three-point play tied the score at 119-all.
It was the third time this season Young’s scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, breaking a tie with Bulls guard Zach LaVine for the most 20-point fourth quarters this season.
Miami led 36-32 after the first period before a shooting drought in the second quarter as Atlanta took the lead with a 15-0 run. After trailing 41-37, Atlanta led 52-41 after the run, capped by Hunter’s 3-pointer.
Jimmy Butler ended Miami’s dry spell with a layup. Dragic, fouled by Jeff Teague with less than a second remaining in the half, made two free throws to give the Heat a 64-63 halftime lead.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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