Trae Young drove the lane for the game-winning floater with 0.9 seconds left as the visiting Atlanta Hawks took Game 1 against the New York Knicks 107-105 at Madison Square Garden
Monday 24 May 2021 08:16, UK
A crowd that waited eight years to see another Knicks playoff game needed just minutes to make Trae Young its target - and with less than a second of the game to go, he silenced them.
Many in the loud crowd of more than 15,000 jeered Young throughout the night but he got the final word when he drove right through the Knicks' defense and floated in his shot from right of the basket, then put his fingers to his lips to tell the crowd to quiet down.
"I've always looked at it that I'm doing something right if I'm affecting them with my play that much that they hate me that much," he said, after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks. "I'm obviously doing something right and just got to let my play do the talking."
Young made a runner in the lane with 0.9 seconds left to give the Hawks a 107-105 victory over New York on Sunday night in a thrilling postseason return for both teams.
Young finished with 32 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He frustrated the Knicks with his ability to draw fouls and made all nine free throws when he did.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 18 points for Atlanta while Lou Williams scored 13 points off the bench and John Collins finished with 12 points.
Reserve Alec Burks scored 18 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Knicks, whose biggest lead was a seven-point advantage in the third. Derrick Rose had 17 points off the bench while Julius Randle (15 points, 12 rebounds) had a double-double. RJ Barrett scored 14 points and Immanuel Quickley added 10.
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday night in New York.
Young's basket capped a frantic final 3:40 in which the two surprise playoff teams - the Hawks returned to the playoffs after a three-year drought while Sunday marked the Knicks' first postseason game since 2013 - combined for four lead changes and two ties.
Bogdanovic and De'Andre Hunter hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hawks, who trailed by as many as six in the fourth, a 97-93 lead. Barrett muscled his way to a layup and Randle hit a 3-pointer to put the Knicks ahead 98-97 with 2:04 left
Young followed with an old-fashioned three-point play but Burks responded with a go-ahead 3-pointer. Following a turnover by Young, Burks sank a 16-footer to extend the Knicks' lead to 103-100 with 1:11 left.
Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout and Burks missed a shot on the next trip. Young drew a foul with 28.6 seconds left and hit both free throws. Rose tied it at 105-105 on a floater with 10.2 seconds left, after which the Hawks used their final timeout to set up Young's go-ahead basket.
The Knicks had one chance to tie or win the game, but Randle, defended by Collins, could not get a shot off before the buzzer.
Young then walked off the court making a shushing motion at the boisterous sellout crowd of 15,047. The last word belonging to the playoff rookie who looks born to perform on basketball's biggest stage.
