The unofficial start to the second half of the NBA season is underway, and former Duke basketball star Cam Reddish got the Atlanta Hawks off to a great start.
Cam Reddish wasn’t in the NBA dunk contest, but his slam on Thursday night got the entire crowd on its feet and brought home a victory.
Tied at 124 with the Miami Heat in the first game out of the All-Star Break, Reddish’s defensive tenacity forced a turnover by Goran Dragic as the former Blue Devil corralled the loose ball and stormed up the floor.
Reddish took off with two feet and finished with two hands for safety to give the Hawks a 126-124 lead with under 35 seconds to play, and that was all she wrote for this matchup.
Atlanta used free throws from Trae Young to ice the game, a part of his 50-point night, to take down the Heat, 129-124.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED pic.twitter.com/LAzqYd918H
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 21, 2020
Cam Reddish finished with 16 points coming off the bench in 37 minutes on Thursday night in addition to his four rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks.
The No. 10 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft was 6-of-12 from the field, 1-of-5 from 3-point range, and made all three of his free throw attempts in the victory over the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
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The 20-year-old is averaging 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 35.3 percent from the field and an improving 31.6 percent from 3-point range.
Atlanta was one of the most disappointing teams prior to the All-Star Break with a 15-41 record, but its win on Thursday pushes the Hawks to 16-41 and nine games behind the Orlando Magic for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference with 25 games to play.
Cam Reddish and the Hawks will continue a two-game homestand on Saturday night as Atlanta hosts the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30pm EST.