Trae Young and the Hawks got the last word. But it was Jalen Brunson who came out looking suave. As the cookie crumbles, the Atlanta Hawks won by 8 points in New York and advanced to the NBA Cup semifinals. To rub that defeat in further, Trae Young trolled the MSG crowd with a ‘roll the dice’ gesture on the Knicks logo! It was the cause behind all the boos he got on his way out. He had a big fat grin the entire time, basking in this win. As the Knicks were eliminated, Trae’s gesture lit a fire under NY’s biggest star.

New Yorkers were getting quieter in the second half when the Hawks were widening their lead. Young scored 22 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds and somewhere in the last few seconds, he went up to the Knicks logo, blew on his hand, rolled an invisible dice, and picked up invisible money. Not once, but twice! The message was clear, the Hawks are Vegas-bound to compete in the NBA Cup, and the Knicks’ tendency to lose crucial games expectedly kicked in.

It looked like a mocking celebration to taunt the Knicks home crowd. But as Young revealed in the post-game presser, it was more than that. “I planned that one with my little brother a few days ago,” said Young, whose brother Timothy is a rising hoops phenom himself. “We talked about that. Yeah, I knew what I was going to do. We’re going to Vegas, so that’s what I was going to do.”

Trae Young was so confident they were heading to Las Vegas and he was unbothered by the boos in Madison Square Garden. But the crowd can take a bit of consolation in Jalen Brunson promising redemption. “We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” JB said post-game in anticipation of his next matchup with the Hawks.

What’s clear is that the Knicks’ chance at redemption in the NBA Cup is not happening this year. Instead of Vegas, they’ll be heading to Orlando to play against Magic this Sunday. The NY side choked on their early 12-point lead to miss the chance to add its first banner to MSG since 1973 (not a championship banner but still a banner when you haven’t won anything in 50 years).

Jalen Brunson was held back by Hawks’ defender, Dyson Daniels. With 14 points tonight, he had a tall order for himself to beat the Hawks. Especially when Young’s not letting them live this down.

Trae Young drives home the BURN, despite being safely escorted away

Securing the Hawks’ standing in the in-season tournament, Trae Young was determined to not let New York live this down. He was safely escorted off the court and into the tunnel by security, in an attempt to avoid any unwanted brawl. At the end of the day, the fearless Ice Trae was away from home, i.e. in enemy territory. The drama didn’t stop there, though. Right after the game, he was on X with stills of his mid-court celebration. And he threw in a cheeky hashtag “#WeMove.” Dice emojis never looked this harsh before!

“So I picked up the money after that and we left,” the All-Star said after the game. “We’re going to Vegas. I shoot dice. I play a lot of games. So was what I was doing.” It brought back memories of the Hawks and Knicks’ 2021 playoff matchup when Young taunted the MSG crowd after the Game 5 win. If Brunson wants vengeance, he’d have to wait till January 20, when they play Atlanta again in MSG.

Meanwhile, they should hope that Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will humble Trae Young when they meet the Hawks for the NBA Cup semifinals next. What’s your prediction for the next game? Let us know in the comments below.