Trae Young stings Knicks again, leads Hawks to NBA Cup semifinals - ESPN
NEW YORK — As the final seconds melted away, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young knelt down on the Knicks' half-court logo at Madison Square Garden — where he has inflicted so much pain and received so much scorn — and pretended to roll dice as he and his team punched their ticket to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals this weekend.
Buoyed by a furious second-half run, Young and the Hawks pushed past the Knicks 108-100 on Wednesday night, the latest example of the three-time All-Star having a bit of fun in New York.
Young and his club eliminated the Knicks from the playoffs on the Garden floor back in 2021, with Young punctuating the victory by taking a bow at center court and waving goodbye to the crowd. He came up with a different celebration ahead of Wednesday night's victory.
«We're going to Vegas, so that's what I had to,» he said of rolling the dice.
Young added: «I planned that one with my little brother a few days ago. We had talked about that, and I mean, I knew what I was going to do.»
De'Andre Hunter scored 24 points and Jalen Johnson had 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for the Hawks, who will square off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday in Vegas for the right to play in the NBA Cup title game.
Afterward, Knicks star Jalen Brunson didn't begrudge Young for his midcourt celebration, saying simply, «We should win the game if we don't want him to do that.»
Young, who finished Wednesday's game with 22 points, five rebounds and 11 assists, was a massive catalyst for the Hawks in the second half. The Knicks (15-10) had led for the entire game and were up 66-62 midway through the third period when Young scored eight straight points, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, to give Atlanta (14-12)