Trae Young believes the Atlanta Hawks will come out stronger from their current slump.
Their journey starts in Cleveland on Thursday against the Cavaliers, who are back on track with two consecutive wins.
The Hawks have lost six games in a row after their 100-96 defeat to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
Atlanta managed to fight back from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter, nearly pulling off an impressive win. However, De’Andre Hunter’s open 3-point attempt with 12.9 seconds left missed.
“It’s tough but it’s part of the NBA; you’ve got to dig yourself out of the holes that you put yourself in,” said Young, who scored 21 points and added nine assists after missing the previous game against Minnesota due to hamstring tightness.
“Sometimes teams just get put in holes and you’ve got to figure out how to find a way out of it. That’s where we’re at right now. We’re on a losing streak and we’ve got to figure out a way to get back on the winning side, however it comes.
“Whenever you’re fighting the way we’re fighting, we’re still giving ourselves a chance with everybody out there. It’s a good sign, but you obviously want to win more games than lose. We’ll be all right. Trust me.”
Young is listed as probable for the game in Cleveland while continuing to manage his right hamstring. Clint Capela (back) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (personal) will not play.
The Hawks played good defense for three quarters against the Rockets, but their poor shooting from beyond the arc hurt them. Atlanta only made 11 of 47 3-point attempts.
“I thought our looks were really good — they weren’t forced shots,” said Hawks coach Quin Snyder. “I haven’t seen the ball go in the hole as much as you’d hope, but other than wanting to shoot the ball better, I like the fact that we’ve continued to play and defend.
“There’s a long runway for this team and this is a tough stretch right now. I’ve told the guys we have to keep grinding.”
Atlanta has beaten Cleveland twice this season and will face the Cavaliers on the second night of a back-to-back.
Cleveland defeated the Miami Heat 126-106 on Wednesday, which allowed coach Kenny Atkinson to manage his players’ minutes.
“The icing on the cake is I saved some minutes for our guys,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got a look at the big picture — we’ve got the game against an Atlanta team that’s beaten us twice.”
Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points in what Atkinson called “an elite All-Star performance,” while Evan Mobley added 22 points and 15 rebounds as he continues to recover from a calf injury.
“Better,” Atkinson said about Mobley’s performance. “(He) got to the boards, got to the rim, had a couple of dunks. I told him you’re 75-80 percent of where you were, so I can feel it coming.”
