Jalen Brunson Had Blunt Response to Trae Young Taunting's After Knicks' NBA Cup Elimination

Listen, he's got a point.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson on Dec 3, 2024. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks knocked the New York Knicks out of the NBA Cup in a 108–100 quarterfinal victory on Wednesday, and the Hawks' Trae Young celebrated his impending trip to Vegas with a fitting celebration: he mimed a Sin City-style dice roll, right on top of the Knicks logo.

It was a move designed to agitate, which makes sense for Young, who himself has admitted he has a "love-hate relationship" with New York fans at Madison Square Garden. But one person who wasn't bothered, or at the very least had a measured reaction to the taunt, was Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.

"We should win the game if we don't want him to do that," Brunson said of the celebration, per Knicks reporter Ian Begley.

Jalen Brunson asked about Trae Young standing over NYK logo at half court, blowing on/rolling dice and picking up money like he was on Vegas craps table at end of game: “We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that.”

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 12, 2024

Dude's got a point. Though New York was up at halftime, Atlanta made up for the margin in the second half, outscoring the Knicks 61–46 over the final two frames. Overall, it was a huge upset over the Knicks, who were initially favored -350.

Now, Atlanta gets to advance to the semifinals, where they'll take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 14.

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