Following Luka Doncic‘s magical 73 points, the Atlanta Hawks leader didn’t say anything but praise. Trae Young took a moment after the Friday night loss against the Dallas Mavericks and gave his take on the game. Despite the Luka explosion on one end, the Hawks also stepped on the gas together as a team. However, the Slovenian star came out on top with his performance.
Describing his performance, Trae Young said, “You can’t get caught up in it. He was hot, he was going and shit, we were trying everything. We were trying to trap him, started off with Jalen on him and then DJ was switched on him a little bit. We tried a lot of things.”
Trae Young on Luka Doncic scoring 73 points: "You can't get caught up in it. He was hot, he was going and shit, we were trying everything. We were trying to trap him, started off with Jalen on him and then DJ was switched on him a little bit. We tried a lot of things."
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) January 27, 2024
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Doncic’s magical 73-10-7 helped the Mavs record a 148-143 win against the Hawks. It didn’t just end with a win, but also a historical night. The star guard reached the fourth highest for points scored in a single game, behind the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. Moreover, he also beat his mentor Dirk Nowitzki’s franchise record for most points scored in the first half with 41 points.
While the NBA world was busy with stats and records, the rivalry, which was brewing since 2018, was left unnoticed. Trae Young and Doncic always had a rivalry narrative set on them. It began from the 2018 NBA draft night. The Hawks picked Doncic as the third overall and immediately traded him for Trae Young, who was picked as the 5th overall.
Even though the duo went on to become leaders of their franchises, it always came down to the narrative where Luka is better than Young. Notably, the stats and trophy cabinet tell a different story.
However, after tonight’s game, the brewing rivalry had some sort of a result. Luka Magic torched Young’s men with an explosive 73-pointer on rivalry week.
Read More – Trae Young Gets Brutally Honest About Being Compared to Luka Doncic: “There’s Been Worse Comparisons”
On the other hand, Young has constantly denied the rivalry existing between them.
Young reacts to the Luka rivalry
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
There are a lot of narratives that constantly make rounds in the NBA world. Players may not even be aware of some of them. Meanwhile some of them could be fake. Similarly, the Luka-Young rivalry narrative is fake one, as said by Young.
Speaking to Draymond Green, he said, “To be honest with you, I have no hate towards nobody, especially Luka. We talk all the time. We got a lot of love for each other, a lot of respect for each other,” reported Sports Illustrated.
Will this 73-pointer ignite the spark for the rivalry this time? Only time will tell.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Watch This Story – “Newark local Austin Reaves gets brutally honest about Los Angeles lifestyle”
What do you make of the rivalry between Young and Luka? Let us know in the comments below