Trae Young hits game-winning shot to lift Hawks over Jazz – Deseret News

It was a perfect moment of redemption for Collin Sexton.

The last time the Utah Jazz guard hit a game-winning shot, on December 1, head coach Will Hardy called a timeout that he immediately wished he could have taken backand the shot didn’t count.

But on Tuesday night, despite a broken play in which the Atlanta Hawks nearly stole the ball, Hardy let the Jazz move forward. Sexton hit the ball to prevent the Hawks from taking control, took it to the left side of the arc, dribbled to get some distance and hit an incredible 3-pointer to tie the game with four seconds left.

The only problem is that four seconds is a long time, especially for someone as talented as Trae Young, who is known for making extremely deep shots look like easy work.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Young received the ball, and before he even crossed half court, he made a 50-foot shot that looked like it was going in from the moment it left his hands.

He entered with a whistle.

“It’s a tough way to end the game, but there’s nothing to be mad about with the end of the game,” Hardy said. “I thought Collin was pressuring the ball pretty well, but those are some of the breaks in the game… Trae Young made a shot from half court.

“It’s one that we will see on video, and there will be things to teach as there always are, but in this one you just shake their hand and move on. “It was a great finish and an incredible shot.”

While the ending was tremendously tense and offered all the excitement a fan could want from a close finish, the rest of the game was as fun as any game has been for the Utah team this season.

The Jazz were moving the ball and making adjustments in the game. Despite being shorthanded, without Jordan Clarkson (plantar fasciitis), John Collins (personal reasons), Keyonte George (left heel) and Brice Sensabaugh (illness), everyone on the Jazz roster stepped up when needed .

They got big minutes from Micah Potter, Johnny Juzang, Patty Mills and rookie Cody Williams. Added to this are the incredible performances of Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler and Sexton.

Markkanen tied a career-high in 3-point attempts with 15 and made eight of them en route to a 35-point outing. Kessler had a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds that included eight offensive rebounds.

Sexton added 24 points, including the game-tying shot and a decisive 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

“I thought we took care of a lot of the little things,” Hardy said. “The guys played very hard, they moved the ball. I thought a group of guys played well tonight.”

While Sexton’s teammates hoped the Jazz would have extended their winning streak to three games for the first time this season, they were more concerned about how bad the pain would be for Sexton, having lost the game after feeling like he had done enough to make them work overtime.

“He put us in that position,” Markkanen said. “Collin made a great play and gave us a chance and it’s a shame for him too to make a shot like that and not make it to overtime.

“You always feel like you’re going to earn it eventually if you can get there.”

All that said, the Jazz came out of this game feeling like they’re still headed in the right direction. Nobody hung their head, nobody was disappointed by the way they played.

As Hardy said, after a shot like Young’s, they just tip their caps and get ready for the Miami Heat on Thursday night.