The Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night to become the first-ever No. 10 seed to reach the NBA playoffs. The Heat needed overtime and a healthy dose of Davion Mitchell to get past Trae Young and the Hawks.
While Heat All-Star Tyler Herro had a spectacular 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, it was Mitchell who came off the bench and outscored Atlanta in overtime all by himself.
Mitchell made 3 of 4 three-pointers in the extra period with the only miss resulting in an offensive rebound by Mitchell followed by his third three of overtime.
Trae Young dared Davion Mitchell to shoot a three in OT.
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 19, 2025
Mitchell got the board and made him 😤🔥 pic.twitter.com/a67wuUhhpy
On that play Young went under a screen—or at least he would have if he had been close enough for Tyler Herro to try to screen. Young simply settled in the paint as Mitchell shot the ball. As Young turned, Mitchell chased his miss, grabbed the rebound and ended up getting another wide-open look a few seconds later to the ice the game as Trae Young walked back into the lane.
Pretty much everyone who captures videos from NBA games posted the clip. All pointed out Mitchell's hustle. Many pointed out Young's lack of effort.
You could see this coming from a mile away. Trae Young and Davion Mitchell yelled at each other a couple possessions earlier. Young dares him to shoot the first one and thinks he won the battle when Mitchell missed. As soon as Mitchell broke for the ball, you knew he had it. https://t.co/mLpxIQIMxX
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) April 19, 2025
Trae Young just stood there and let Davion Mitchell snatch that rebound pic.twitter.com/IPGXJ3NgWc
— Tedd Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) April 19, 2025
This type of defensive effort from Trae Young is CRAZY with the season on the line.
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) April 19, 2025
Doesn’t even try to contest the wide open three, then gets the rebound ripped out of his hands by the SHOOTER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JacFPW40S6
Davion Mitchell just snatched Trae Young’s chain 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/clGg6bIMGh
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) April 19, 2025
Considering how Young finished the Hawks' other play-in loss this week, it's unlikely this is what people remember from his 2025 postseason, but it may linger just as large in the minds of the Hawks front office as they enter the offseason.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fans Weren’t Impressed With Trae Young’s Defense on Davion Mitchell’s Final Three.
