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Hawks star Trae Young ejected after throwing ball at official vs. Pacers

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
·2 min read

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young was ejected from their 143-130 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday afternoon after he threw the ball at an official.

Midway through the third quarter at State Farm Arena, Young was called for an offensive foul on a 3-point shot from the logo. After Tyrese Haliburton drilled a 3-pointer on the other end, the Hawks called timeout, and Young was still livid.

He slammed the ball down once, turned and threw it back to the official. Instead of just tossing him the ball, though, Young whipped the ball hard toward the official just before he moved to go to the Hawks’ bench.

While it wasn’t shown on video, Young’s pass hit the official — which prompted him to eject Young instantly.

"It’s just a play he can’t make," coach Quin Snyder said, via The Athletic's Jeff Schultz. "I told him that and he knows it and owns it, for a lot of reasons. Frustration can’t get to that point. When it does that can’t be your response. He’s not the only one who’s lost their cool, but we’re not talking about anyone else right now, we’re talking about Trae. He’s too good of a player and we need him. ... There wasn’t a single part of him that was trying to rationalize what happened."

Young finished with 14 points and 5 assists in 21 minutes. The technical marked his 15th of the season, just one shy of a one-game automatic suspension.

Trae Young
Trae Young threw the ball at an official during a timeout on Saturday afternoon, and was quickly ejected. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) (Todd Kirkland via Getty Images)

Young’s offensive foul came after he tried to take a 3-point shot from the logo. As he landed, officials called him for a foul for sticking his leg out and kicking Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith, who tried to defend the shot. Young fell to the ground after colliding with Nesmith.

Though the game was tied when Young was tossed, the Hawks surged ahead early in the fourth and took the 13-point win. John Collins led the way with 21 points, and Dejounte Murray added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Clint Capela finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds.

Jordan Nwora led Indiana with 33 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. Haliburton finished with 19 points and 13 assists.