Tray Young was first for the Hawks with 38 points and nine assists, while Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 points off the bench for Atlanta. Lauri Markkanen scored with the Cavaliers with 26 points and eight rebounds and Darius Garland had 21 points and nine assists, but in the end their output was not enough. Following is a look at three points from Atlanta’s victory over Cleveland. Select the checkbox to confirm that you want to sign up.

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A two-half story about Trae Young

Trae Young started slowly in Cleveland on Friday night, scoring just six points in the first half. Given his degraded production at that point, it is no surprise that his team dropped 10 at halftime. However, in the second half, Yang exploded for 32 points and his output was a huge reason the Hawks were able to come back and win. In the second half. Yang scored or assisted 43 of Atlanta’s 56 points. This is more than the Cavs scored throughout the half (40). The Hawks can look like a completely different team depending on how Young plays. In the first half, they showed a lot of pedestrians in the attack, but in the second half they looked like a well-oiled machine with Young shooting from outside, while at the same time creating many open opportunities for his teammates. In addition to scoring 38, Yang also provided nine assists – five of them in the second half. Cleveland had no answers for him at the defensive end, and that proved to be the difference in the game.

2. No Capela, no problem

It did not look great for the Hawks at half time. They were left in double digits and it was announced that they will be left without their main center Clint Capella for the rest of the game due to knee overextension. But while Capela was very valuable to Atlanta this season, they did well without him in the second half. The Hawks dropped out of his absence as they chose to replace Onyeka Okongwu with Capela. This move paved the way for Atlanta and gave Young a little more space to work together. Although they managed to get by without Capela against Cleveland, this is not necessarily something they want to do. Now that they are moving forward, Capela’s condition will be something to watch out for as he is about to undergo an MRI scan on Saturday. Obviously, the Hawks will want to be as healthy as possible for a tough series against the Heat.

3. Many reasons for optimism for Cleveland to move forward

The Cavaliers’ season came to an end and did not lead to a place in the playoffs, but there are still many reasons for optimism in Cleveland. The Cavs secured their first winning season since the departure of LeBron James in 2018, which is an achievement in itself. It is possible that their record would have been even better if they did not have injury problems in key players such as Jarrett Allen, Ricky Rubio and Colin Sexton. Darius Garland has blossomed into an All-Star this season and rookie big man Evan Mobly looked like a future All-Star. In the meantime, he is likely to win the Rookie of the Year award. With these two, the Cavs have a terrific youth duo to build around as they go. With a little more seasoning, they could potentially become a legitimate candidate. So while it ended in disappointment, this season was another important step in the right direction for the Cavs.