Trae Young-Dejounte Murray duo catch fire at 'right time' for Hawks

ATLANTA — For at least one night, the Atlanta Hawks appeared to have finally found the fearsome twosome they tried to form last offseason, when they traded for All-Star Dejounte Murray.

The late June swap with the San Antonio Spurs was intended to pair Murray with fellow guard Trae Young, Atlanta's All-NBA long-range sharp shooter and alley-oop assist king. It was the kind of move that signaled the Hawks were in win-now mode.

But through the first two games of these playoffs, the pairing looked anything but; mostly stymied by Young's inconsistent shooting from the field.

That all changed with Friday night's 130-122 Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics, when Young's shot finally rounded into form, particularly in the game's most clutch moments. Coupled with Murray's 25 points, Young's game-high 32 were part of a postseason coming out party for Atlanta's top tandem.

Asked if it was the best performance he and Young have had in a game this year, Murray said without hesitation: «Absolutely.»

Young was a little less effusive in his praise of their joint performance, but still believed it was a step in the direction the Hawks ultimately want to go with both young stars.

«You don't want to live in the moment too much. I mean, we won a game in the playoffs, it's big,» Young said. «But we've had some really good games together. I don't consider this our best game together. It's definitely one of them, but it came at the right time and we needed it.»

The win brought Atlanta closer in the first-round series, cutting into Boston's 2-1 lead. The Hawks will try to even the series in Game 4 Sunday night in Atlanta.

As soon as he sat in his chair at the postgame podium, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said he was most impressed by the