ATLANTA (AP) — The Portland Trail Blazers were on a roll before making a crucial mistake against Atlanta’s Trae Young.
“We let Trae get hot and they gained momentum,” Trendon Watford said.
Young scored 21 of his 46 points in the third period and the Hawks recovered from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat the Blazers 122-113 on Monday night.
Young, who scored 47 points a night earlier in a win over Indiana, added 12 assists against the Blazers. He became the first player in the NBA this season to score at least 40 points on back-to-back nights, according to Elias Sports.
“He does it every night,” teammate De’Andre Hunter said. “We’re used to seeing it, but it’s amazing still.”
Young set a career high with 56 points in Atlanta’s 136-131 loss at Portland on Jan. 3.
After Portland claimed its big lead at 73-58, Young scored eight straight points and 17 of Atlanta’s first 19 in the third period.
The Hawks (34-34), who entered the game ninth in the Eastern…
