NBA Twitter was in a frenzy as Trae Young’s career-high points in a playoff game lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a Game 1 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Trae Young shot the lights out tonight. That’s a sentence we’re getting used to writing about the Atlanta Hawks‘ budding superstar. But in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Trae Young soared to new heights.
Hitting 17 of his 34 shots from the field and 10-of-12 from the line, Young scored a playoff career-high 48 points to power the Hawks over the Milwaukee Bucks — on the road, no less. He added 11 assists and 7 rebounds for good measure. Young’s previous postseason career-high was 39 in Game 5 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers.
Trae Young career-high points in a playoff game got the Hawks the win
Naturally, the basketball world was in awe of Young’s special performance on Wednesday night. Even LeBron James was losing it. Here’s a snippet of the reactions from NBA Twitter.
Young is just the fourth player in league history to score at least 48 points in a Conference Finals game.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) June 24, 2021
The other three are:
Michael Jordan,
Dirk Nowitzki,
LeBron James
The Atlanta Hawks are three wins shy of making it to the NBA Finals for the first time since moving from St. Louis in 1968. Time to believe? pic.twitter.com/WqMLkivHwM
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 24, 2021
Two words: Trae Young.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 24, 2021
NBA Twitter in awe of Trae Young after Game 1 win vs. Bucks
Even those who aren’t Young’s biggest fans were impressed with the 22-year-old’s playoff career-best effort. His ability to score – and win – when the stakes are highest are setting him apart in the 2021 NBA playoffs – the first postseason of his young career.
I'm obviously not the biggest Trae Young fan, but I definitely trust him on the conf-finals stage more than I do Giannis. This was the best game I've seen Trae play. 48 with 6 late clutch free throws. Giannis failed to take over in his house. I said Hawks in 6. One down.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 24, 2021
Reggie Miller is right about Trae Young. Whatever Trae, Devin Booker, and Donovan Mitchell entered these playoffs as, they will exit as superstars. #NBAPlayoffs
— Max Kellerman (@maxkellerman) June 24, 2021
With tonight’s win, Young and the Hawks showed it’s not some fluke they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Hawks are showing they belong in ECF. This isn’t accident, BUCKS got their hands full. #NBAPlayoffs #HawksvsBucks
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) June 24, 2021
— Cassidy Hubbarth (@CassidyHubbarth) June 24, 2021
The Bucks have been served a warning: Trae Young has his eyes on the prize.