On a night in which star Trae Young struggled shooting, the Atlanta Hawks leaned on former Maryland Terrapin Kevin Huerter to carry them. Huerter scored a playoff career-high 27 points in the Hawks’ 103-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of Eastern Conference semifinals.
Huerter shot 10-of-18 from the field. That included him shooting making two of four shots from three. He also was 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Huerter led the Hawks in scoring.
The heroic effort from Huerter was much needed for the Hawks. Young shot a dismal 5-of-23 from the field, including 2-of-11 from three. However, he still finished with 21 points on the strength of 9-of-11 free throw shooting and dropped 10 assists. But it was Huerter who stole the show.
Atlanta’s surprising Game 7 win on the road sends the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015. They’ll face the Milwaukee Bucks. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series starts Wednesday in Milwaukee.
Atlanta native and famed rapper Quavo gave Huerter the ultimate honor after the game.
Huerter played at Maryland for two seasons between 2016-2018. He averaged 14.8 points per game as a sophomore. His draft stock soared and he entered the NBA Draft in 2018, where he was selected 19th overall by the Hawks.
In his third season in the NBA this year, Huerter averaged 11.9 points on a deep Hawks team. Sunday, he stepped up in a huge way in lieu of Young. And now the Hawks are a step closer to reaching the NBA Finals.
