Atlanta Hawks superstar point guard Trae Young has to be feeling pretty special even with the team’s 101-87 loss to the New York Knicks. The loss sent the team two games below .500 at 15-17 and snapped their streak of winning games on the road at six.
Young wasn’t even able to play in this game due to entering health and safety protocols before the last game.
Despite all of that, and solid performances from the likes of Julius Randle (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Kemba Walker (10 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds), Young might have been the most important figure in the showdown.
At one point during the third quarter, while the Knicks were still securing their win, the faithful began chanting a not-so-nice refrain aimed at Young.
Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young owns prime real estate in the mind of every Knicks fan
It wasn’t a great showing for the Hawks offensively or defensively. They shot poorly and let the Knicks rain threes on them at a 40 percent clip; two ingredients for a bad night at the office. That is exactly what they got with four players scoring in double digits but the rest combined to shoot just 9-of-30 from the floor.
The four who did the heavy lifting were 24-of-57 as a group.
Young took note, not only of the chant but also of the timing of the Knicks fans’ boisterousness, while others were quick to point out his absence.
This was the second time this season the Knicks have beaten the Hawks, the first coming 99-90 at State Farm Arena in late November. Young had 33 points, seven assists, and four boards in that one.
Then there was this 36-point, nine-assist showing in the deciding Game 5 of the first-round meeting between these two teams in last year’s playoffs.
Knicks fans are still left with the taste of that postseason defeat at the hands of the Hawks after the polarizing point guard averaged 29.2 points and 9.8 assists on 44.1 percent shooting and 34.1 percent from deep in a series that included a little nudge from Knicks center Nerlens Noel that Solomon Hill returned in-kind plus some.
It also gave us the visual of Young taking a bow for his performance on the floor of Madison Square Garden, the mecca of NBA basketball.
New York is still a half of a game back in the standings this season.
Atlanta lost this battle and is 0-for-2 to that end. But their overall record this season, combined with Young living in their heads means the Hawks are still winning the war.
After the game, Young tweeted out how badly he wanted to be out there for this game. Hopefully, the Hawks can get their leader back on the court in short order with a tough stretch of games that includes a home-and-home versus the Chicago Bulls.