The rivalry between the New York Knicks and Trae Young has been reignited. Jalen Brunson and the Knicks lost to the Atlanta Hawks 108-100 in the NBA Cup quarterfinal game on Tuesday night. Young has a history of coming into Madison Square Garden and sending fans home upset. With the final seconds ticking, the former top-five pick got down on one knee and pretended to shoot dice, indicating the Hawks would be heading to Las Vegas. After the game, Brunson was asked about Young’s antics, and he had the response every Knicks fan wants to hear.
Jalen Brunson Responds To Trae Young Antics
By all accounts, the Knicks kept Trae Young in check on Tuesday night. He scored 22 points on 8-22 shooting and only had 11 assists. However, he had four assists in the final six minutes, setting up his teammates to hit big shots in big moments. Taunting an opponent’s logo is often seen as ultimately disrespect. Jalen Brunson showed off his leadership with his response. When asked, he gave a very simple answer. “We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” the former Villanova guard said via @sny_knicks after the game.
If you are a New York Knicks fan, the loss hurts, especially against the Hawks, but this is the response you want. Brunson didn’t feed into the antics but took responsibility for them. He had a rough game himself. He only scored 14 points on 5-15 shooting to go along with eight assists. The Knicks were in the game, leading at halftime. If they wanted to silence Trae Young, all they had to do was win.
The Correct Response
Over the past few weeks, much has been made about antics on an opponent’s logo. During rivalry week in college football, there were multiple skirmishes that broke out after the winning road team planted their flag on the logo. An Ohio state official even introduced a bill that would make it a felony to plant a flag in a postgame celebration. However, the answer to stopping it is very simple: win. Jalen Brunson gets it. Laws don’t need to be introduced. Policies from leagues don’t need to be put in place. Want to stop your opponents from shooting dice or planting flags? Beat them. Take care of business on your home court.
These kinds of antics are what make watching sports fun. The NBA is full of great rivalries between players and teams. In the 90s, the hatred between the Pistons and Bulls made their games must-see television. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson went toe-to-toe for years. Sports are more fun to watch when the two teams are putting in maximum effort to take the other down.
Final Thoughts
The New York Knicks are going to be fine. Losing the opportunity to play for the NBA Cup hurts, but there have been plenty of positives in the first quarter of the season. The Karl Anthony-Towns trade continues to look like one of the best offseason moves. He had another massive double-double with 19 points and 19 rebounds. Mikal Bridges is starting to find his shooting touch after a rough start to the season. He shot over 50% from the field last night. Jalen Brunson is the leader you want on a championship team. The Knicks are in good shape and will no doubt look to take down the Hawks the next time they play on January 20.
