Knicks Star Confirms Stance on Trae Young Taunt

The New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks’ respective journeys in the 2024 NBA Cup are over but the effects of “Dice-gate” may prove lasting.

What happened en route to Vegas certainly hasn’t stayed in Vegas: members of the Knicks (15-10) have been pelted with questions about the end of their 108-100 loss to Atlanta in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round, one that ended with Hawks star and metropolitan nemesis Trae Young rolling an imaginary set of dice on the midcourt logo at Madison Square Garden.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson has quipped that the Knicks have bigger issues to worry about beyond Young’s invisible gambling.

“Do I have an issue with it? Yeah, but he won, they won,” Brunson said, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “So why put in false and fake energy to do something like that, when you could’ve done that to try and win the game? That’s just my point of view on it.”

Young’s roll was meant to acknowledge the Hawks’ move to Las Vegas for Saturday’s semifinal action at T-Mobile Arena. Despite 33 points and 10 assists from young, Atlanta dropped a 110-102 decision to the Milwaukee Bucks, who will face Houston or Oklahoma City in Tuesday’s championship finale.

Brunson previously remarked that Young was well within his right to engage in such antics after his Hawks took the win, reasoning that the Knicks should’ve done better if they wanted to avoid the scenario. Josh Hart was equally peeved yet indifferent, likewise remarking that the Knicks can’t dwell on what’s basically ancient history.

Their former teammate Isaiah Hartenstein, on the other hand, claimed he would not be lenient toward Young’s display, saying he would’ve “done something” had the incident happened on his watch.

To the points of both Brunson and Hart, the Knicks should be more concerned about a maddening lack of consistency: Wednesday’s loss to Atlanta was their second loss in the past three games after the end of a four-game winning streak. New York is placed fourth in the early Eastern Conference playoff bracket but catching top-ranked Cleveland and Boston already feels like a pipe dream.

If the Knicks are still feeling raw about Young, they’ll have a chance for revenge when the Hawks return to MSG on Feb. 12. In the meantime, they’ll take on their fellow quarterfinal runners-up, the Orlando Magic, on Sunday in Central Florida (6 p.m. ET, MSG).

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