Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder hailed Trae Young's remarkable display against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Young tallied up a career-best 22 assists, the most of any player in a single NBA game this season, and finished with 20 points as the Hawks beat Cleveland 135-124 on Wednesday.

The Hawks, propelled by Young, came back from an early 19-point deficit to inflict just a second defeat of the season on the Cavs.

Young also nailed a 39-foot 3-pointer in the final two minutes, with Atlanta ending a three-game losing streak.

"He threw himself into the game," Snyder said of Young.

"The biggest thing is he just moved the ball, and he forced guys to run. He gave guys opportunities in the open court, and he trusted his teammates.

"I really liked the way we and he reacted to being down.

"Just keeping his poise, that's always been a point of emphasis with Trae."

Young leads the NBA with 225 assists this season, 52 more than any other player and an average of 12.5 per game.

It was not a perfect performance from Young, whose giveaway led to the Cavs pulling within four points at one stage in the fourth, though he made amends with his long-range 3-pointer.

"I couldn't let my team down twice in a row, so I had to make the play," Young said.

"I think when I got the ball back I still had 10 seconds left, so I had a little time to make a play and that's what happened."