On Wednesday night, as Trae Young was dribbling out the clock, he leaned down to the center-court logo of the New York Knicks and pretended to roll dice.
“We’re going to Vegas,” the Atlanta guard said, “so that’s what I had to do.” When Young plays at Madison Square Garden, you can always count on him to deliver.
This time, the court was orange, but it still felt like the 2021 playoffs. The Knicks had just been knocked out, and Young was celebrating right in the middle of their arena.
Young scored 22 points and had 11 assists, leading the Hawks to a 108-100 win in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. They’ll be heading to Las Vegas to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
Back in 2021, Young became a villain to Knicks fans when New York made it to the postseason for the first time in eight years and faced the Hawks in the first round. The Knicks fans taunted him harshly in Game 1, even mocking his hair, but Young got the last laugh.
He made a tough shot with just 0.9 seconds left, giving the Hawks a 107-105 victory in that game. Then, in Game 5, when the series was back in New York, Young scored 36 points and took a bow as the Hawks closed out the series.
This wasn’t the first time Young had taken a bow to celebrate a win, but the dice-rolling celebration was something new.
“I planned that one with my little brother a few days ago,” he said. “We talked about it and I knew what I was going to do.”
Young said he didn’t hear the boos from the Knicks fans until the end of the game. The Knicks were in control during the first half, even leading by 12 points at one point, but Atlanta turned things around in the third quarter.
Young, the NBA’s assists leader, played a key role in the Hawks’ comeback. He scored eight straight points during one stretch in the third quarter, including a deep 31-footer for his second consecutive 3-pointer, signaling how far back he was when he made the shot.
“There was a point in the game when he could feel the game,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.
The Hawks outscored the Knicks 61-46 in the second half, gaining enough control that many fans left early. Some of the fans who stayed booed Young one last time during his celebration.
“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
