Horry Scale: Trae Young beats buzzer, Jazz from beyond halfcourt

A reminder on The Horry Scale: It breaks down a game-winning buzzer-beater (GWBB) in the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or behind at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety night in November?) and celebration. Then we give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, named for the patron saint of last-second answered prayers.

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After a scoreless first quarter, it looked like a forgettable night for Trae Young.

It was just the opposite.

Young capped a spectacular 24-point, 20-assist night with a game-winning buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond the half-court line to give the Atlanta Hawks a 124-121 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Young took an inbounds pass, dribbled to just short of halfcourt and hit the 49-foot winner as time expired while being guarded by Collin Sexton, who had just tied the game with a clutch 3-pointer on a broken play.

GAME SITUATION: After Young made a pair of free throws with 8.1 seconds left, Sexton hit a contested 3 from the wing to tie the game at 121-121. With 2.9 seconds left in regulation and the Hawks out of timeouts, it appeared overtime was imminent. But Young took the inbounds pass and immediately pushed the ball up the floor and launched a prayer over Sexton. Nothing but net.

DIFFICULTY: Young has hit his share of logo 3s over the years and makes half-court shots in warmups with some regularity. But this was uncharted territory. With his eyes on the rim, Young took two dribbles and used every ounce of his 164-pound frame to produce the sixth-longest game-winning buzzer-beater in NBA history.

CELEBRATION: Young waved buh-bye to the stunned fans at the Delta Center and had just enough time to break into his patented “shiver” gesture before his teammates mobbed him at center court.

“When there’s time left, I always feel like we can score,” said Young, who is the first player with 20 assists and a game-winning buzzer-beater in the same game.

HAWKS WIN 🥶 pic.twitter.com/5y2Hr7pgAj

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 8, 2025

GRADE: Cool as ice, as always, Young added to his legacy as one of the most clutch shooters in the NBA. What a way to cap his third 20-20 game of the season. Yes, the game would have gone to OT had Young missed and it was just a regular-season game in December, but it still rates high on The Scale. 4 Horrys.