Wednesday night marked the second night of the NBA Cup quarterfinals, but it also marked the renewal of the intense rivalry between Trae Young and the New York Knicks. Young's Atlanta Hawks are seeking to pick up a gritty road win at Madison Square Garden and advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas.
The Knicks fans have a well-documented hate for Young, ever since he decimated them in the first round of the 2021 playoffs and capped off the five-game series victory with a bow at mid-court of America's most famous arena. Ever since then, Young has been public enemy number one for the Knicks fans whether he is playing at MSG or not.
On Wednesday night, Knicks fans had another opportunity to let Young hear it and they took full advantage.
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The chants didn't work as Young wasn't thrown off his game at all. He had another great game in front of the hostile New York Crowd, finishing with 22 points and 11 assists. The Hawks trailed by double digits for much of the first half and briefly were down big again in the third quarter before coming alive with a massive run that vaulted them in front by a healthy margin. Despite a few small Knicks runs, the Hawks were able to pull out a 108-100 win to advance to the semifinals.
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Young didn't have his best shooting night, finishing just 8-for-22 from the field and 2-for-8 from 3-point range. However, he was helped in a big way by his teammates on the wing and on the interior. The Hawks finished this game with 22 offensive rebounds and it was a big night for wings Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels.
Johnson stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Daniels was a menace on the defensive end of the floor as usual, holding Knicks star Jalen Brunson to just 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting. DeAndre Hunter also had a massive night off the bench with 24 points for Atlanta, and big men Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu both tacked on double-doubles to help out in the win.