PORTLAND, Ore. — Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young scored an NBA season-best 56 points in a 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.
Young shot 17 for 26 from the field, 7 for 12 from 3-point distance and 15 for 15 from the line for his career-high scoring total, and added 14 assists. His 56-point game eclipsed Kevin Durant‘s 51-point performance for the Nets at Detroit on Dec. 12. Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Boston’s Jaylen Brown have had 50-point games this season.
Young became the first player with 50-plus points and 14-plus assists in a game since James Harden with the Houston Rockets on Dec. 31, 2016.
He also scored or assisted on 86 points, tying for the most in a game in his career and the third-most by anyone in the last 25 seasons (Harden). Young previously created 86 points in a quadruple overtime game against the Bulls in 2019, when he had 49 points and 16 assists.
Anfernee Simons had a career-high 43 points to help the Portland Trail Blazers snap a four-game losing streak. Simons had a career-high nine 3-pointers, the most for a Portland player this season. After missing Portland’s last game, Simons started in place of All-Star Damian Lillard, who was out because of injury management.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.