Trae Young, perennial Knicks and Madison Square Garden villain, comes up just short this time
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young drives the ball defended by Knicks guard Landry Shamet in the first half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It almost happened again.
Trae Young almost once again sent Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden slack-jawed into the night. He almost ruined a great night by Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson. He almost pushed an Atlanta team to a win they had no business winning.
But, in the end, Brunson’s offense and Mikal Bridges’ defense stopped the Atlanta Hawks and the point guard everyone in New York loves to hate, giving the Knicks a 149-148 overtime victory Wednesday night.
It was Brunson’s running 19-foot pullup jumper with 11.1 second left that gave the Knicks the lead and it was Bridges’ block on Young’s 8-foot driving floater with .03 seconds left that secured the win and sent Knicks fans into a frenzy.
“We didn’t play as well as we would have liked to, but I loved the resolve and the fact when we went into overtime we found a way to win,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
Young finished with 38 points, but it was his play at the end of regulation that forced the game into overtime and gave him five more minutes to try to break the hearts of Knicks fans.
The Knicks, up by six points with eight seconds to go in regulation, when Young found Georges Niang beyond the arc and he knocked down a three. Dyson Daniels then stole a bad pass from Towns and was fouled. He made the first to cut the score to 137-135 with 7.1 remaining and after missing the second grabbed his own rebound.
Young, desperately looking for a shot, was fouled by Josh Hart with 2.2 second to go. With Garden fans screaming his name in their favorite obscene chant, Young sank both free throws. Brunson then missed a 23-footer and the game went into overtime.
“Trae Young is a load to deal with,” Thibodeau said in a classic understatement.
The play at the end of regulation was just the latest in annoying sequences orchestrated by the point guard who has delighted in being a thorn in the Knicks’ side for several seasons.
Young became one of the most reviled players in Knicks history when he helped Atlanta eliminate the Knicks from the first round of the 2021 playoffs in five games.
After hitting a game-winning floater to steal homecourt advantage in the first game of that series, Young turned to the crowd and raised his finger to his lips as if to drive home the fact his shot had made them despondently silent.
Then, after closing out the series in Game 5, he turned toward the fans and bowed.
In December when the two teams were playing for the right to go to Las Vegas and play in the In-Season Tournament, Young decided to stick it to the Knicks again after a Hawks win. Young celebrated the Hawks victory by dropping to his knees on the court and pretending to throw imaginary dice. He repeated the gesture before swiping the floor with his hand as if he were snatching some money.
Wednesday night’s game was Young’s last and final game at the Garden this season. Atlanta also lost a game here in January where Bridges’ defense also played a key role in putting them in check.
The game was the Knicks’ final game before All-Star break and it featured two big-time performances by their two All-Stars. Brunson finished with 36 points and Towns had 44 points and 10 rebounds.
The Knicks also walked into the All-Star break, winning eight of their last 10 games. with a 36-18 record (.667), they head into the break with their best winning percentage since 1996-97 when they were 34-14 (.708) at the halfway point.
Said Thibodeau: “In the end, we got it done. I think you can learn from losses and learn from wins. I’d rather learn from a win.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
