Madison Square Garden embraced playoffs action after a long eight-year wait, and the first game of the series ended in heartbreak for the Knicks. Trae Young scored with 0.9 seconds left on the clock to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs.
The 22-year-old was met with F-you chants all evening from the hostile Garden crowd but managed to have the last laugh in his first playoffs outing.
Young registered 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists in the game and scored the all-important game-winning basket to steer the Hawks to a 107-105 win.
After hitting the shot, Young raised his finger to his lips as the 15,000 strong crowd fell silent all at once. Watch the video right below:
Following the conclusion of the game, the guard said that he was expecting the crowd to throw in some more harsh chants after the shot, but instead went real quiet.
“As I hit the floater, it just felt like everybody got quiet,”I was waiting for them F-you chants again. I was excited.”
“When you’re in the zone, and everybody’s chanting ‘F you!’ … it got real quiet at the end. And for me, I wanted to hear those ‘F you!’ chants again,” Young said
Trae Young embraces the hate
The youngster from Oklahoma is having a stellar start to his NBA career and has a career average of 24.1 points per game.
With his exploits at the Madison Square Garden, he became only the fourth player to register over 30 points and 10 assists in their playoffs debut. The guard joins the likes of LeBron James, Chris Paul and Derrick Rose in the category.
I definitely know the history of players coming in here and being hated,” Young said. “Like I said, I take that as a compliment to be honest with you.
Obviously I’m doing something right if you hate me that much. I embrace it and try to focus on my team and trying to help my team win. At the end of the day, we’ll get the last laugh if we do that.” Young concluded
Finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference under the guidance of interim coach Nate McMillan, the Hawks will hope to extend their lead when they face the Knicks again on Thursday.
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