ATLANTA — Trae Young never lost confidence in himself, even after a run of dismal playoff performances.
Finally, he looked like that charismatic point guard who carried the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference final two years ago.
Young scored 32 points in his best playoff game since 2021 and the Atlanta Hawks gave themselves a glimmer of hope, beating the Boston Celtics 130-122 Friday night to close the gap to 2-1 in the opening-round series.
Young hit a step-back 3-pointer from the corner with 2:21 left and knocked down another huge basket on a floater in the lane with 45 seconds remaining after Jaylen Brown missed a 3-pointer that would’ve tied it for the Celtics.
The seventh-seeded Hawks will try to even the series against the second-seeded Celtics in Game 4 on Sunday night at State Farm Arena.