The rivalry between Trae Young and the New York Knicks was set for another chapter as the Atlanta Hawks traveled to New York’s Madison Square Garden for an NBA Cup quarterfinal match. The Hawks emerged 108-100 winners and booked their place in Las Vegas for the semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Trae Young led the Hawks to yet another meaningful win in New York, and he celebrated the fact by pretending to shoot dice on the Knicks logo at center court as time expired.
Trae threw dice on the logo 😂😂🎲🎲 pic.twitter.com/blX2va3IVB
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 12, 2024
Young was enjoying himself, even skipping down center court after a basket in the fourth quarter.
Trae Young really owns the Knicks 😠pic.twitter.com/Dcejud6A4H
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) December 12, 2024
Trae ended the night with 22 points (8-22 FG), five rebounds, and 11 assists, playing a major role in the win. He was arguably not Atlanta’s best player on the night, as Jalen Johnson had 21 points (8-20 FG), 15 rebounds, and seven assists, along with two steals and two blocks in the win. DeAndre Hunter was their leading scorer with 24 points (8-15 FG) off the bench.
Trae’s role as a perennial villain in New York stretches back to their Eastern Conference first-round matchup in the 2021 Playoffs, where the Hawks upset the Knicks as the lower seed in the first round behind a Trae masterclass. Young averaged 29.2 points and 9.8 assists in that series, eliminating the Knicks at home and bowing to the raging fans.
That series led to the birth of the infamous ‘F**k Trae Young’ chants that have rang out at almost every game Trae has had in New York since. He’s 5-6 against the Knicks since the 2021 Playoffs.
Even though the Knicks have had the better of Trae and the Hawks since that Playoff matchup, moments like tonight further build the legacy of Young as a premier MSG villain, which hasn’t been helped by his confrontational post-game comments after past matches.
All five Knicks starters scored in double digits. Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points (7-15 FG), 19 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks. Josh Hart led the team in scoring with 21 points (8-12 FG) while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out six assists.
Mikal Bridges scored 19 points (9-17 FG), while Jalen Brunson struggled in the face of Dyson Daniels’ defense and put up 14 points (5-15 FG) and eight assists. OG Anunoby had a rough night as well with 13 points (5-17 FG), six rebounds, and three blocks.
Hawks Looking Competitive This Season
This win improves the Hawks record to 14-12, tying the franchise with their NBA Cup Semi-Final opponents for the No. 6 seed in the East. The Bucks have a 13-11 record this season, so their matchup in Vegas will also help the winner take intermediate control of the No. 6 seed in the Conference.
The Hawks have shot up the table after a slow start to the year, going 7-1 over their last eight games. Young is averaging 21.0 points and 12.2 assists this season. His reduced scoring output has been compensated for by the emergence of Jalen Johnson, who is averaging 19.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists.
Even the defensive flaws in the backcourt have been patched with the summer acquisition of Dyson Daniels, who’s averaging 13.5 points, 5,0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.0 steals.
These rising stars alongside Trae paint a bright future for the Hawks, who need to make the Playoffs this season as they do not control their first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
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