Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young is using the Oklahoma City Thunder’s success last season as personal motivation for this season.

Young, who grew up in Oklahoma and played one season at the University of Oklahoma before turning pro, was inspired by the Thunder’s run to the NBA title and would like to see his Hawks follow the same script.

The teams meet on Saturday when Oklahoma City makes its only visit of the season to Atlanta. It will air live on KWTV News 9 beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Thunder swept both matchups last season, winning by an average of 20 points.

The Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 141-135 on Thursday in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals and became the first team in league history to play two double-overtime games to start the season. Oklahoma City defeated Houston 125-124 in double OT in the season opener on Tuesday.

The Hawks bounced back from being blown out by the Toronto Raptors in the season opener on Wednesday to erase a 14-point second-half deficit and put up a 111-107 road win over the Orlando Magic on Friday.

Young has done his part, scoring 22 and 25 points in the first two games, including 11 points in the fourth quarter at Orlando. In 13 career games against Oklahoma City, Young is averaging 24.2 points and 9.9 assists.

“I think I was more motivated this summer, being from Oklahoma and seeing those guys win a championship,” Young said. “I know how much the whole city was embracing them and how it took a whole team. It didn’t just take one player, even though they had the MVP of the league. It only takes one year for it to click, and I’m feeling good about this year.”

Thunder Coach On Defending Trae Young:“You don’t take him out. You just have to deal with him. He’s slippery and manipulative in the pick-and-roll, and it’s a great test for our coverage execution early in the season.”

Atlanta played on Friday without Zaccharie Risacher (right ankle sprain) and Kristaps Porzingis (flu-like symptoms). Nickeil Alexander-Walker (19 points) and Mouhamed Gueye (13 points, eight rebounds) helped pick up the slack.

“We’ve got a team,” Gueye said. “I mean, we miss K.P. and Zach, but we’ve got guys ready to go. We’ve got to do it again on Saturday.”

The Thunder, as usual, are led by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 45 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 46.5 minutes through two games.

“He is thinking constantly about how he can get better,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s constantly self-reflecting. He’s constantly self-critical.”

In 11 career games against Atlanta, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 26.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

Chet Holmgren is averaging 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Thunder, and Ajay Mitchell is chipping in 21 points per game off the bench. Holmgren, however, is dealing with lower back soreness and is listed as questionable for the Saturday game.

Daigneault On Holmgren’s Role Without Jalen Williams:“We want Chet to be a prominent part of what we’re doing offensively, even when everyone’s healthy. He’s got great length, touch, and feel — and still has runway as a developmental player.”

Thunder guard Alex Caruso (concussion protocol) will miss his second consecutive game, while Cason Wallace (left knee sprain) is questionable for Saturday after sitting vs. Indiana. Five more Oklahoma City players, including All-Star Jalen Williams (right wrist surgery) are sidelined, too.

“You deal with this stuff at different points in a season,” Daigneault said. “Every team does. We happen to be dealing with it now, but we try not to make any excuses about it.”

Watch OKC Thunder Coach Mark Daigneault address the media pregame on our new YouTube channel, Oklahoma’s Own Sports, below.

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Oklahoma City Thunder (2-0, second in the Western Conference) vs. Atlanta Hawks (1-1, seventh in the Eastern Conference)

Atlanta; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -6.5; over/under is 235.5

BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City visits the Atlanta Hawks after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 55 points in the Thunder’s 141-135 overtime victory against the Indiana Pacers.

Atlanta went 40-42 overall a season ago while going 21-19 at home. The Hawks averaged 9.7 steals, 5.1 blocks and 14.7 turnovers per game last season.

Oklahoma City finished 68-14 overall, 39-13 in Western Conference games and 32-8 on the road a season ago. The Thunder averaged 120.5 points per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 37.4% from 3-point distance last season.

INJURIES: Hawks: Zaccharie Risacher: day to day (ankle), Kristaps Porzingis: day to day (flu).

Thunder: Nikola Topic: out (groin), Cason Wallace: day to day (knee), Alex Caruso: out (concussion), Chet Holmgren: day to day (back), Jalen Williams: out (wrist), Kenrich Williams: out (knee), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee), Isaiah Joe: out (knee).