Rolling the dice on his way to Las Vegas, Trae Young shows he's always a safe bet at MSG

NEW YORK (AP) — Trae Young was dribbling out the clock Wednesday night when he leaned down toward New York's center-court logo and pretended he was shooting dice.

“We’re going to Vegas,” the Atlanta guard said, “so that’s what I had to.”

When he's at Madison Square Garden, always bet on Young.

The court was orange this time, but otherwise it looked and felt like the 2021 playoffs. The Knicks had just been eliminated, and Young was celebrating in the middle of their arena.

The star guard had 22 points and 11 assists, leading the Hawks to a 108-100 victory in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. They will head to Las Vegas to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

Young emerged as a villain to Knicks fans in 2021, when New York reached the postseason for the first time in eight years and drew the Hawks in the first round. They profanely taunted him in Game 1, even mocking his hair, but the point guard got the last word.

He made a runner in the lane with 0.9 seconds remaining to give Atlanta a 107-105 victory in that series opener. When the series returned to New York for Game 5, Young scored 36 points before taking a bow like a Broadway actor as the Hawks finished the series.

He had bowed before as a way to punctuate a victory. The rolling the dice celebration was new for this game.

“I planned that one with my little brother a few days ago,” he said. “We had talked about that and I mean, I knew what I was going to do.”

Young said he didn't hear venom like he did in 2021 until late in the game. The Knicks controlled the first half, leading by 12 at one point, but Atlanta turned things around in the third quarter.

Young, the NBA's assists leader, was right in the middle of the decisive rally. He scored eight straight points in one stretch of the third quarter, pointing to the floor to show how deep he was when he made a 31-footer for his second consecutive 3-pointer.

“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, seizing such control that a number of fans headed to the exits before the finish. Some who were still there booed Young one last time during his celebration.

“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said.

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Brian Mahoney, The Associated Press