Trae Young lost his cool Tuesday during the Atlanta Hawks’ NBA play-in tournament game against the Orlando Magic.
The Hawks were in a 107-85 hole against the Magic with five minutes left inside Kia Center in Orlando, Fla. A frustrated Young finished a floater in the lane to cut the lead down to 20.
Young then got the ball and threw it with force toward a referee standing along the baseline, which earned the Hawks star his first technical foul. Instead of walking away to cool off, Young kicked the ball rolling toward a different official on the other side of the court. The move cost him another technical foul, which got him ejected from the contest.
Young got his money’s worth as he walked back toward the locker room. He continued toying with referee Pat Fraher by refusing to give up the ball. The 4-time All-Star even did a little crossover to fake Fraher out.
Young led all scorers with 28 points on 8/21 shooting to go along with 6 assists. The Hawks were unable to come back without their star, falling to the Magic 120-95.
The Hawks still have one last chance to make the playoffs by beating the winner of the lower-seeded East play-in game between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. But morale probably won’t be all that high following Young’s outburst against the Magic.
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