Star guard Trae Young provided half of the team’s assists as he has found ways to influence the game as the Hawks have moved on from him as their primary scorer. Young has made it a goal to trust his teammates this season and he appears to be more selective with his shots, but his assist numbers are up as he continues to lead the league in assists per game and total assists.

“I mean, I always did,” Young said. “It’s nothing new that my shots still aren’t falling and believe me, when that starts falling it’s a whole different game.

Young scored 12 points, had eight rebounds and a steal to go with his 15 assists.

2. State Farm Arena welcomed back former guard Dejounte Murray, who was traded by the franchise to the Pelicans in late June. Murray missed the teams’ first meeting in November with a broken hand.

Although a tribute video was shown in the arena for the first time of the game, the Hawks FanDuel 404 crew showed there was no love lost for Murray. The ridicule and defense of Dyson Daniels hindered him on offense.

Murray was averaging 14.8 points early in the game, but the Hawks’ defense led by Daniels held him to 2 of 15 shooting from the floor. He also had five rebounds, nine assists and five steals.

3. For the second time this season, Daniels shined against his former team. He got involved early, sending his floaters flying through the alleys and converting plenty of dishes from Young.

Daniels scored 19 points and made 50% of his 16 shots from the floor.

But Hawks fans have gotten used to his elite defense and he complicated Murray’s ability to score. Daniels slipped into Murray’s body, which frustrated him at times. With six minutes left in the game, Murray dribbled halfway down the court and Daniels then made a grab 29 feet from the basket. He pushed Murray toward the sideline before shuffling his feet and pinning the Pelicans guard there.

Murray tried to dribble out of the trap, but Daniels relentlessly pursued the ball and tried to push it away. Out of frustration, Murray turned and threw the ball hard from Daniel’s feet to stop play.

Fans enjoyed the matchup between Murray and Daniels, and the FanDuel 404 crew chanted “Dyson is better” throughout the night.

The only time fans showed displeasure with Daniels was in the third quarter when he picked Gunna over Outkast in the hip-hop section. The fans booed him and as the camera flashed in the arena

4. Forward De’Andre Hunter continued to turn heads as the team encouraged him to play aggressively. Since returning on Nov. 15, he has averaged 14.4 points and scored 20 or more points in five of 11 games. On his 27th birthday, he delivered a great performance attacking the basket.

“We need him to be aggressive for us,” Young said. “Every time he shoots we all believe it’s going in and he takes great shots. Nothing is forced, and for him to come here on his birthday, he could have taken 20, 30 shots and that would have been fine with us.”

For the seventh time in eight games, Hunter hit over 50% of his shots from the floor. On Monday, he hit eight of his 14 total shots, including four 3-pointers.

Hunter hit his fourth 3 of the night with 3:40 to play, then turned and shot a pistol-shaped 3 in Murray’s direction. It was reminiscent of a move Daniels made toward his former teammates on the Pelicans’ bench when the Hawks played them on Nov. 3.

5. The Hawks began this season with better starts but struggled to finish quarters and games the way they wanted. Over the last five games, the Hawks have averaged 18 turnovers per game, although they have won the last four.

Stat knowing

The Hawks defeated the Pelicans this year for the first time since the 2020-21 season, winning on April 2 in New Orleans and April 6 at State Farm Arena.

Quotable

I think Trae Young can play 5-for-16 (and) I think other than a few turnovers, he had a really good game.” Quin Snyder on the Hawks’ win despite Trae Young’s poor shooting.

Next

The Hawks travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Wednesday before returning home to face the Lakers.