BOSTON — It was once a scene Trae Young had rehearsed in his thoughts as a child.
Lower than 10 seconds residue. A must-win contest. His crew at the street, ailing one level. Basketball in his arms.
Assemble a play games.
As TD Ground’s fourth-quarter contest clock ticked ailing in Tuesday’s Recreation 5 in opposition to the Boston Celtics, the whole lot Younger envisioned got here to fruition. In what has grow to be his calling card via 5 NBA seasons, the 24-year-old barricade let a weighty shot fly from akin midcourt. And he buried it.
This week, when the shot fell during the hoop, it staved off removing and prolonged the Hawks‘ season to a minimum of Thursday’s Recreation 6 in Atlanta (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT), with the Celtics protecting a 3-2 sequence manage within the first around of the Jap Convention playoffs.
“I’ve been owning the moment my whole life. That’s what I do,” Younger stated. “I’m not afraid of it; I’ve worked too hard to be afraid of the moment.”
His unedited time got here with 2.1 seconds residue when, next bringing the ball up the ground, Younger pretended to his proper earlier than stepping again and to the left to knock ailing a 30-foot 3-pointer to beat the Celtics 119-117. Younger completed with a game-high 38 issues.
“Fourth quarter, tied, close game. At this point, I know what time it is. It’s Ice Trae Time,” Hawks ahead John Collins stated. “He does his thing. He’s clutch. He wants to be in those moments. He wants the big shot, so it’s sort of normal for me to see him go into that mode and do what he does.”
Throughout a timeout seconds earlier than Younger’s shot, Hawks educator Quin Snyder checked out his barricade and had a message: He sought after the ball in Younger’s arms, however a deep 3 wasn’t the primary plan of assault.
“I told him to try to get to the rim if you can,” Snyder stated. “But if you have space, just seize it and make a play. We all believe in you.”
Nearest Hawks ahead Saddiq Bey inbounded into the backcourt, Younger started scanning Boston’s protection. Jaylen Brown, the Celtics’ 6-foot-6 wing, was once there, and with each step Younger took week the half-court sequence, he spotted one thing remarkable.
Brown saved backing up.
“They didn’t need three; they only needed one [to tie],” Brown stated. “Trae Young is pretty shifty going to his right hand, so that’s what I was looking to take away.”
As soon as Younger known Brown was once bracing for a pressure, he made the decision.
“I just had to trust in what I’ve done my whole life,” Younger stated, “and that was to shoot with confidence.”
When the ball dropped into the online, the once-frenzied house society fell serene, because of Younger, who began strolling go into reverse the ground rubbing his shoulders and simulating a shiver, à los angeles his Ice Trae birthday celebration.
“That’s a tough basket, a tough shot in the playoffs,” Brown stated. “Maybe if I had forced him toward the basket a little bit more, I could have picked him up a little bit better.
“However possibly we shouldn’t were in that place within the first park.”
The time was once paying homage to the performances he put on at Madison Square Garden all the way through his postseason debut in a 2021 first-round sequence in opposition to the New York Knicks. His 32-, 30- and 36-point efforts on the road in Games 1, 2 and 5 led Knicks fans to serenade Young with chants of “F— Trae Younger!”
The Hawks and Young got past the Knicks — and their fans — and advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference finals.
In the closing minutes of Tuesday’s game, as Young started heating up and closing Boston’s once-13-point lead, that same expletive of a chant echoed inside TD Garden.
“It didn’t really feel just like the Knicks sequence,” Young said. “The Knicks sequence, [the chants] almost definitely began with 10 mins within the first quarter.
“When people do that, I just think that’s total respect. They ain’t doing it to everybody.”
Trae within the grasp: 11 PTS
Celtics: 6 PTSHe’s as chilly as ice 🥶 pic.twitter.com/svVtwBgPL5
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 26, 2023
Younger’s game-winning 3 punctuated a last stretch of just about 4 mins all the way through which he scored the Hawks’ ultimate 14 issues:
Deep 3-pointers in back-to-back possessions, sandwiched round a thieve in opposition to Celtics barricade Marcus Smart.
5 immediately detached throws, one made imaginable via a technical foul on Celtics ahead Jayson Tatum for hitting the ball into the stands.
The 30-foot heave over Brown with 2.1 seconds residue — simply 5 seconds next barricade Derrick White crash two detached throws to provide Boston a one-point edge.
“[But] we’re still in an elimination phase,” Younger stated. “We lose [Thursday] and we’re done. So we’ve got to keep that same energy and be ready to play when we get back home.”
Since grasp performances like Tuesday’s aren’t modern to Younger, what occurs inside of his thoughts when the lighting fixtures apparently get brighter?
“It’s really just the time and situation that shows itself,” Younger stated. “We’re down and it’s late in the game, I’m sitting on the line and I know I’ve got to be more aggressive.
“I simply had to flip it up every other stage.”
