Trae Young Rolls to Another Knicks Elimination

For at least one night, Trae Young kept his rivalry with the New York Knicks rolling.

Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) brings the ball up court against the New York Knicks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Trae Young rolled the sweetest kind of seven against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

Young lived up to his billing as a metropolitan villain in his latest descent upon Madison Square Garden, posting a 22-point, 11-assist double-double for his Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. Atlanta won the game by a 108-100 final to secure a semifinal ticket in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, where they'll face the Milwaukee Bucks for continued in-season glory (4:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

Regaled by Manhattan jeers as Wednesday's clock inched toward zeroes, Young commemorated his earned Vegas vacation by standing on the Knicks' center court emblem and mimicking a roll of dice.

"We're going to Vegas, so that's what I had to," the Sin City-bound Young said, per Chris Herring of ESPN. "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."

Wednesday's win was only Young's seventh regular season triumph over Knicks in 21 showings. His reputation as a Knick killer, however, has proven durable ever since it was established during the opening round of the 2021 postseason: in a five-game tilt, Young spoiled the Knicks' first playoff appearance in eight years with a 29.2-point, 9.8-assist output, capping things off with a tally of 36 in the clincher at MSG.

Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Since that series, Young has lingered in metropolitan minds, which have conjured chants of "F*** Trae Young" at MSG and other New York sports venues. He certainly added fuel to the verbal fire on Wednesday: a personal 8-0 run in the third quarter officially completed Atlanta's comeback from a deficit that reached as high as 12.

Though Young previously expressed reluctance in reprising the role of metropolitan villain, he preceded his Vegas-based vexing with a taunting skip down the floor as Atlanta (14-12) took control of the game in the second half. Between his own shots, as well as those created by his assists and rebounds, Young had a role in 24 of the Hawks' 34 points in the period.

In the aftermath, Young insisted that his link with Knicks fans is a "love-hate relationship."

"I got a lot of love and a lot of hate, I guess, from them," Young said in his postgame interview with Katie George of ESPN. "But I've got a lot of love from them too. It’s respect,”

While using a host's logo as a celebratory stage has been an issue in college football lately, the Knicks dealt with Young's imaginary roll as graciously as they could in defeat.

“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that," Brunson said, per Ian Begley of SNY.

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