New York Knicks fans had waited eight years to be back in The Garden for an NBA playoff game, and for much of the night, the fans were heard in full force.
Then, Trae Young silenced them all.
The Atlanta Hawks edged out the Knicks, 107-105, in Sunday’s Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first round matchup in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final possessions.
Young, who had heard it from the Madison Square Garden crowd all game, hit the go-ahead floater with .9 seconds to go. After hitting the shot, Young turned to the MSG crowd and gestured to the fans to quiet down.
TRAE. YOUNG. BALLGAME. pic.twitter.com/tk3fZdGL6U
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 24, 2021
The lip readers out there will probably notice that Young appeared to say, “It’s quiet as (expletive) in here.” Then, he continued to make his way to the bench during the timeout.
After the game, Young told the Inside in the NBA crew that he was partly fueled by the vitriol he heard from the crowd earlier in the game — all the “F-U” chants. So, when MSG got quiet, he had to fire back at them.
"It got real quiet at the end…"
–@TheTraeYoung joins the TNT crew after his game-winner in MSG. #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/MQY3hP9yNo
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 24, 2021
Young scored 32 points and added 10 assists in his NBA playoff debut.
