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[Saba Sports News] Trae Young let his emotions get the best of him during Tuesday’s NBA play-in game between the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic.
With just under five minutes left and the Hawks trailing 107-85 at Kia Center in Orlando, a visibly frustrated Young drove in for a floater to trim the deficit to 20. But what happened next quickly unraveled his night.
After the basket, Young fired the ball aggressively toward a referee on the baseline, earning an immediate technical foul. Moments later, he compounded the situation by kicking the ball toward another official across the court, resulting in a second technical and an automatic ejection.
As he exited, Young continued to mock referee Pat Fraher by pretending to hand over the ball, only to pull off a fake crossover move and walk off toward the locker room.
Young finished with a game-high 28 points on 8-of-21 shooting and added six assists, but his ejection all but ended any hopes of a Hawks comeback. Atlanta went on to lose 120-95.
The Hawks will now have one final shot at making the playoffs when they face the winner of the Bulls-Heat play-in game. However, Young’s meltdown may leave a cloud hanging over the team heading into that do-or-die matchup.