Young in elite company after another outburst

Trae Young is building a legacy with one big shot, one rare performance after another.

As the Hawks rookie does, he is accomplishing feats only the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James have done early in their careers.

Young scored a careerhigh 49 points with 16 assists and eight rebounds in 56 minutes only to have the Hawks come up short in a thrilling 168-161, four-overtime loss to the Bulls on Friday night at State Farm Arena.

Young is the first rookie in NBA history to post at least 45 points and 15 assists in a game. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Young scored or assisted on 86 points for the Hawks, the most by a rookie in NBA history. His 49 points were the most by a Hawks player this season, and the most by any rookie in the league this season. The only other rookies to post at least 40 points and 10 assists in a game in the past 40 years were Jordan and James.

Good company. Zach LaVine’s driving layup in the fourth overtime put the Bulls up 166161 with just more than 30 seconds to play, enough of a lead to finally subdue the Hawks. LaVine had a career- high 47 points with nine rebounds and nine assists in 56 minutes. Besides Young, six Hawks finished in double figures, led by Alex Len with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawks played without an ill John Collins.

Otto Porter scored 31 points and had 10 rebounds, and Lauri Markkanen added 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls.

“That was a fun game to play in, probably one of the most fun games I’ve played in my career,” Young said. “We were going through things. I’m proud of the way we fought, even though we came up short.”

Young’s performance came on the day he was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the third time this season. He has set or tied a career high in points in each of his past

three games.

Young made big shot after big shot Friday. He became only the fourth player in the past 20 years to make two tying or go-ahead field goals in the last five seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Young said his record-setting night might just be the tip of the iceberg.

“I didn’t shoot 100 percent. I didn’t make all the right plays. I missed two free throws. I had nine turnovers. I definitely could’ve been better. The scary thing is that I can still play better,” he said.

Young scored 29 of his points in the fourth quarter (18) and first overtime (11). He was 17 of 33 from the field, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range.

Vince Carter has seen Young’s development and believes it has to do with overcoming adversity.

“Everything’s starting to slow down for him and everything’s starting to make sense for him. This is my o pi nion, but the best thing that happened to him was the struggle in the beginning (of the season) ... Now, he’s reaping the benefit of it. It’s been a blessing in disguise. Maybe he doesn’t see it, or his fans, but what it’s done for him now has been unreal,” Carter said.

‘Everything’s starting to slow down for him and everything’s starting to make sense for him.’