Trae Young gets first of what could be many 50-point games

The Atlanta Hawks’ young star point guard is at it again. Trae Young added to his ever-growing resume with a 50-ball vs. the Miami Heat on Thursday.

Death, taxes and Trae Young putting up huge numbers for the Atlanta Hawks.

After putting his talents on display over the All-Star break, the 21-year-old sensation took things to a completely different level in Atlanta’s first game back.

Down 97-90 heading into the fourth quarter, Young engineered an impressive comeback against the Miami Heat. This was no easy feat, as Erik Spoelstra’s team has been one of the Eastern Conference’s best all season long.

Young, dropping a whopping 50 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field (8-of-15 from 3-point range), boosted his scoring average to 30.1 points per game on the season. He also added a pair of rebounds and eight assists, two steals and a block. Proving to be a factor in every facet of the game, Atlanta picked up its 16th win of the season.

Scoring in bunches isn’t something Young is a stranger to. Heading into Thursday’s game, the former Oklahoma standout had nine 40-plus point outings this season alone. He’d also put up between 30 and 39 points on 18 separate occasions, improving his game from year one to year two.

The Hawks, albeit struggling in the grand scheme of things, are a better team when Young is carrying the load. Lloyd Pierce’s bunch has 12 of its 16 wins (75 percent) when the floor general goes for at least 30. Player development will be a key to unlocking the potential of this team but if Young has anything to do with it, he’ll be guiding this ship to safety.

Talk about Young’s defensive struggles all you want, but there’s no denying his ability to put the ball in the basket and set up his teammates for quality looks. Tonight was just one example of it. With several 40-point games and now a 50-point outburst on his record months before his 22nd birthday, we should see many more before it’s all said and done.