Trae Young gets a lesson in hubris

Trae Young, the young star point guard of the Atlanta Hawks, has developed a reputation as one of the best up and coming players in today’s NBA. That’s why he might be forgiven for forgetting that 59.9 seconds is an eternity in NBA basketball.

After assisting for an Alex Len dunk that put the Hawks up by 6 points, Young taunted Miami Heat fans with the words “It’s Over!”. That’s usually not something you want to do on the road, especially against a team that has an ultra-competitive hardass like Jimmy Butler.

Reminiscent to their recent OT win over the Toronto Raptors, Butler had a hand in the buckets that sent the game into overtime. He first assisted Duncan Robinson for a three on the next possession. Robinson then returned the favor by providing a dish to Butler that tied the game with 29.8 seconds left. Neither team came up with another bucket in regulation.

From the moment Trae Young said those words, until the final whistle, the Heat outscored the Hawks 24-4.

The difference in this game was that while Jimmy Butler took over in the extra period against the Raptors, this time he helped the young Heat players shine. The Heat wiped the floor with the Hawks in the added period, outscoring them 18-4.

Butler finished with a triple double after providing 20 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists. Bam Adebayo had the best game of his young career triple double with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. This was the first time in Heat history that a pair of teammates achieved the feat in the same game. 

Duncan Robinson had 34 points, while Kendrick Nunn had 36.

This was a painful lesson for the young Hawks, and an excellent confidence-booster for a Heat team that looks dead set to contend for the Eastern Conference crown.

Jimmy Butler may have raised eyebrows when he chose to leave the Philadelphia 76ers, but maybe he was on to something.

https://youtu.be/H-uYzk8ldp8

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