Trae Young ejected for making ‘a mockery of the game’ after firing the ball at 1 ref, playing keep-away from another

Young was walking down court after his first technical, then jumped to kick the ball away from Fraher as soon as he saw it coming in his direction.

Ref: Young made ‘a mockery of the game’

Both technicals were obviously warranted. But just in case it wasn’t clear, Williams offered some clarification on why they were issued in a postgame interview with a pool reporter.

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“Trae Young received his first unsportsmanlike technical foul for throwing the ball at a game official,” Williams said.

As for the second?

“He received his second unsportsmanlike technical foul for kicking the ball away and making a mockery of the game as we were attempting to shoot the free throw for the first technical foul and by rule when the player receives two unsportsmanlike fouls he’s ejected from the game,” Williams continued.

A “mockery of the game.” That’s a succinct assessment.

The Magic went on to a 120-95 win to secure the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks have one last chance to earn a playoff bid in an elimination game on Friday. They’ll take on the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the Bulls and Heat with the No. 8 seed at stake. The loser’s season will be over.

Young, Quin Snyder respond

That means that Young has at least one more game with stakes left to play this season, assuming that he doesn’t come away from Tuesday’s incident with a suspension. Here’s what he had to say postgame about his ejection and moving forward from it:

“I told him I was sticking up for the squad, and I’m not gonna let the refs frustrate me like that in our next game,” Young said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I know we gotta win or go home next game and I’m gonna be ready.”

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It’s not clear who “him” is in this instance. But Young knows the assignment.

Hawks coach Quin Snyder said that Young addressed the situation with his teammates.

“He’s quick to own that,” Snyder said. “But the game was out of hand at that point.

“But again, this is playoff basketball, there’s going to be adversity. We have to continue to handle it in a way that can power through some of that.”