ATLANTA – Trae Young wants the basketball when the game is on the line.
He knows he’s expected to be the big-time player for the Atlanta Hawks.
Young scored 39 points, including Atlanta’s last eight, to continue his hot start as the Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 103-99 Saturday night.
When asked how he flourished in the final minutes, Young said: “That’s what makes big-time players what they are. They step up in big moments.”
Young, who had 38 points in Atlanta’s season-opening win at Detroit, again carried the scoring burden for the Hawks, who had no other player with more than 10 points. The second-year point guard added nine assists and seven rebounds.
Young took over the game after Orlando led 96-95. His baseline reverse layup gave the Hawks the lead, and after a tying free throw by Aaron Gordon, Young’s layup gave the lead back to the Hawks.
Young added a long, fallaway 3-pointer, stretching the advantage to 102-97 with 25 seconds remaining. He celebrated with a shimmy strut toward the other end of the court.
“He’s clutch, man,” Hawks forward John Collins said. “He just has that clutch gene. Guys like him take the shots down the stretch and just expect them to go in.”
The Magic couldn’t find a way to stop Young.
“I tried to stay in front and make him shoot over top of me,” said Orlando’s Markelle Fultz, like Young, a 21-year-old point guard. “He shot it. Just got to slap him on the butt and say, ‘Good shot.'”
Young had 17 first-half points. Fultz finished the game with 12 points.
Young’s 38 points against the Pistons on Thursday were the most in a season opener for the Hawks since Dominique Wilkins’ 39 against the New Jersey Nets in 1986. Young led NBA rookies with nine 30-point games last season, and now he already has two.
“Whatever it takes,” Young said. “I’m just glad we’re winning.”
Evan Fournier led Orlando with 23 points, Nikola Vucevic had 16 with 10 rebounds and D.J. Augustin added 14 points.
While Young was 5-for-10 from 3-point range, Orlando was just 5-of-31.
“You can’t win an NBA game shooting 17% from the 3,” said Magic coach Steve Clifford, whose team actually shot 16.1%.
“We’re all pros,” Gordon said. “We got to make those shots.”
The Hawks’ 9-2 run to open the second half included Young’s back-to-back trademark one-handed floaters. He added a steal of Gordon’s pass and a 3-pointer for a 61-52 lead, Atlanta’s biggest advantage of the game.
Atlanta led 85-84 before Augustin’s four free throws and Michael Carter-Williams’ powerful dunk gave Orlando a 90-85 lead. The Hawks twice pulled even on shots by Young – his long 3-pointer tied it at 90 and his jumper knotted the score at 94.
Kevin Huerter and Jabari Parker each had 10 points for Atlanta.
The Hawks’ youth doesn’t end with Young. Atlanta’s other starters were 20-year-old Cam Reddish, 21-year-old De’Andre Hunter, 22-year-old Collins and 26-year-old Alex Len. Hunter and Reddish, the team’s first-round draft picks this past summer, had six points apiece. Collins had nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Hawks overcame a lopsided disadvantage at the foul line. The Magic made 24 of 26 free throws; the Hawks were 8-of-15.