Trae Young scored 30 of his 41 points in the first half and the Atlanta Hawks poured in 43 points in the first quarter en route to a 116-111 victory against the Indiana Pacers Saturday night at State Farm Arena. It was the fourth time the Hawks have reached the 40-point mark in a quarter this season. However, Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce was more excited about his team giving up 16 points in the fourth quarter.
“I think our guys are competing and they’re trying to take away hot actions and they’re really trying to compete on that end,” said Pierce. “Anytime we have a quarter like we had in the fourth quarter tonight, where we just made it tough, you know, every shot was tough … The first quarter is fun, but that’s not stuff you think is going to sustain. Trae, obviously, didn’t miss a shot I think until his 10th. You know that’s going to balance out a little bit. But when you’re getting stops, you give yourself an opportunity.”
Another person that give himself an opportunity tonight was Kevin Huerter. The second year swingman from Maryland scored 26 points and made four out of his seven shot attempts from three point range.
“We came out hot,” explained Huerter. “Trae was unbelievable in the first quarter … I don’t know how many three’s he had. I made a couple shots in the first quarter. We shot the ball really well.”
Vince Carter became the first NBA player to play in four different decades. For context, as Carter plays his 22nd season, he surpassed the members of the prodigious 21-season club (Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis and Robert Parish) as the longest-tenured NBA player.
The Atlanta Hawks will host the Denver Nuggets Monday night. Tip-off is 7:30 PM.
