WASHINGTON (AP) — Trae Young showed off plenty of tricks in his debut for the Washington Wizards.
On his team's first offensive possession he breezed in for a layup. Later in the first half, Young faked a behind-the-back pass with his right hand and then switched the ball to his left before making a contested layup.
In the third quarter, he made a 3-pointer while being fouled and threw a pass between a defender's legs to set up a layup.
“I just wanted
to come out here and just have some fun,” Young said. “Get the first one out of the way.”
Young had 12 points and six assists in just over 19 minutes in his first game with the Wizards, a 122-112 loss to Utah on Thursday night. Washington acquired Young from Atlanta in January, but he hadn't played since then because of quadriceps and knee issues.
There was a noticeable buzz in the crowd when he began the game in the starting lineup, and although Young was on a minutes restriction, he had enough time to give Washington fans a sense of what he can provide — almost nonstop action at the offensive end.
“You felt the electricity in the building,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “Our fans have been terrific this year. I'm glad they came out to show support today. You could definitely feel it.”
Young said he didn't get much sleep Wednesday night.
“I was really looking forward to today,” he said. “Just coming out here and shaking off whatever rust I would have, just from missing a few months of basketball.”
Although Young was the main attraction, a couple rookies upstaged him a bit. Utah's Ace Bailey scored a career-high 32 points, and Juju Reese — in just his third NBA game — had 18 points and 20 rebounds for Washington.
Tre Johnson, drafted by the Wizards one spot after Bailey last year, scored 15 points, all on 3-pointers.
The connection between Young and Johnson will be one to watch. Of course, the tandem that might really bring attention to Washington is Young and Anthony Davis, but the latter still hasn't played since the Wizards traded for him last month.
Davis has been out because of ligament damage in his left hand. The team said Thursday he's been cleared to began limited on-court basketball activities and will be evaluated again in two weeks.
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