As Trae Young dribbles out the clock in the 4th quarter, he pretends to throw a dice at the Knicks logo.

• BUY NOW: Emirates NBA Cup Tickets (Semi-Finals and Finals)
• Get NBA League Pass TODAY

NEW YORK (AP) — Trae Young was dribbling down the clock on Wednesday night when he leaned toward the New York City center court logo and pretended to roll the dice.

“We’re going to Vegas,” Young said, “so I had to do this.”

When he’s at Madison Square Garden, always bet on Young.

The court was orange this time, but otherwise it looked and felt like the 2021 playoffs. The Knicks had just been eliminated and Young was celebrating in the middle of their arena.

The star guard had 22 points and 11 assists and led the Hawks to a 108-100 win in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. They will travel to Las Vegas to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

Young emerged as a villain for Knicks fans in 2021, as New York reached the postseason for the first time in eight years, drawing in the first round against the Hawks. They mocked him profanely in Game 1 and even made fun of his hair, but the point guard had the final say.

He made it with 0.9 seconds left to help Atlanta to a 107-105 victory in the opening game of the series. When the series returned to New York for Game 5, Young scored 36 points before bowing out like a Broadway actor as the Hawks closed out the series.

He had previously bowed to mark his victory. The celebration of dice rolling was new to this game.

Trae rolled the dice on the logo 😂😂🎲🎲 pic.twitter.com/blX2va3IVB

– Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 12, 2024

“I planned this with my little brother a few days ago,” he said. “We had talked about it and I knew what I was going to do.”

Young said he didn’t hear any venom like 2021 until late in the game. The Knicks controlled the first half and led by 12 at one point, but Atlanta turned things around in the third quarter.

Young, the NBA’s assists leader, was in the middle of the decisive rally. He scored eight straight points in one stretch of the third quarter and pointed to the floor to show how deep he was when he made a 31-footer for the second straight game.

“There was a point in the game where he could feel the play,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.

The Hawks outscored the Knicks 61-46 in the second half, gaining control and sending a number of fans heading for the exits before the end. Some who were still there booed Young one last time during his celebration.

“We should win the game if we don’t want him to do that,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said.