While most of the basketball world was focused on the Final Four on Saturday, the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets -- or, specifically, Kevin Durant and Trae Young -- were putting on a show in a game that quietly had serious implications in the NBA playoff race.
After the Nets jumped out to an early double-digit lead, the Hawks surged in front in the second quarter and would not relinquish that advantage. Despite Durant's best efforts, the Nets' comeback attempt fell short and the Hawks held on, 122-115, to extend their winning streak to five games.
While the Nets didn't win the game, we have to first talk about Durant's incredible performance. He poured in a career-high 55 points, going 19 of 28 from the field and 8 of 10 from 3-point land, and pulled down seven rebounds. Thirty of those points came in the second half as he tried to drag the Nets back, but even that wasn't enough. Durant and Irving combined for 86 points, while the rest of the roster combined for just 29.
Durant was in such a zone that at one point he casually walked into a one-leg runner from the top of the key. You know you're feeling it when you start breaking out the shots you would normally take just fooling around in a workout.
THIS IS NOT FAIR 😭 pic.twitter.com/xoYoUi5ZxN
- SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 3, 2022
But as brilliant as Durant was, the night ultimately belonged to Young and the Hawks. With his friend, Quavo, watching courtside, Young put up 36 points, six rebounds and 10 assists, and closed the show in style. With the Hawks clinging to a three-point lead in the final minutes, Young took over. He scored 11 points in the final 91 seconds, including a nasty pull-up 3-pointer over Patty Mills with 22.7 seconds remaining that essentially ended the game.
🧊 36 points for @TheTraeYoung
🧊 10 assists, 6 boards, 4 threes
Trae leads the @ATLHawks to their 5th-straight win as they move up to No. 8 in the East! pic.twitter.com/sRQAlEZpD3
- NBA (@NBA) April 3, 2022
Now with five straight wins under their belt, the Hawks have improved to 41-37 on the season. What's more, they jumped both the Nets and the Charlotte Hornets to move up to eighth place in the Eastern Conference. That may not seem important, because they'll still be going to the play-in tournament, but if you finish No. 7 or 8, you need to win just one game to get into the playoffs. Teams in spots Nos. 9 and 10 have to win twice.