The Madison Square Garden crowd appointed Trae Young as its 21st century villain last year, when he averaged 32 points in the Atlanta Hawks' three road wins against the New York Knicks during the East quarterfinals. Much to fans' dismay, Young relished the role. And on Tuesday night, he put on yet another show for the Big Apple audience.
Fueled by the boos and vitriol, Young picked up right where he left off inside the Garden, scoring 45 points with eight assists in the Hawks' 117-111 win over the Knicks. The 23-year-old has posted 30-plus points in his last four games at the Garden, and according to ESPN Stats & Info, that's tied for the second-longest 30-point streak by a visitor since the current arena opened in 1968.
"The [New York City] water is responsible for great bagels, good pizza dough, and Trae Young putting on a show," NBA on TNT reporter Jared Greenberg told the Reiter Than You show on Wednesday. "Everybody loves playing at MSG -- it's their favorite venue. Some of the younger guys told me last night they just love the aesthetics of it, where it feels like you're literally up on a stage...
"That Game 1 last year, remember, [Young] didn't come in as a villain. I think a lot of hardcore fans loved watching him, but the average fan was unaware of his abilities. And then when they got on him, starting in Game 1 of that series, it really lit a fire that NBA superstars are able to capitalize on. He's turned that into a playground for him, and he just loves playing there."
Prior to Tuesday, the last Hawks player to score 45 points against the Knicks in New York was NBA legend Dominique Wilkins, who accomplished the feat during the 1987-88 campaign. In 66 games this season, Young has averaged 28.2 points with 9.5 assists and a 45.7 field goal percentage. After the game, he told reporters that the Garden crowd "wasn't even that loud." Young ranks third in the league in total points scored (1,861) and first in assists (625).
Atlanta (36-36), which owns the East's final play-in tournament spot, returns to action on Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons. According to projections from FiveThirtyEight, the Hawks currently have a 39-percent chance to reach the playoffs and less than a 1-percent chance to make the conference finals.
The entire NBA conversation between Greenberg and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Reiter Than You show on Twitter @sportsreiter and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.