Trae Young, Hawks livid over controversial no-call in loss to Mavs

After the outing, crew chief Josh Tiven offered this statement regarding the play to the media.

“In the game the contact between Young and Cauley-Stein was deemed incidental and therefore we didn’t have a whistle on the play,” it read. “After reviewing the play postgame we still feel that a no-call was the correct decision.”

That didn’t sit well with Young.

“The play was for me to get the ball,” he said after the game.  I’m not gonna run away from the ball with four seconds left and we’re trying to win the game. I’m not gonna fall just to fall. That’s just the most frustrating part. Not having an opportunity make a play at the end,” the Hawks star shared.

Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce was similarly irritated.

“It’s really unfortunate that the game ended that way,” he said. “Trae sets a great screen. It should have been a foul. We should’ve had the basketball after the free throw on the side. Just disappointed with the way that game ended.”

Egregiously bad, game-changing officiating has become commonplace in the NBA, so none of this should come as a surprise. That said, the last time the Hawks went on a losing run the team imploded and players in the locker room turned on Young, so hopefully the lasting ramifications this time around are less severe.

Young finished with 25 points and 15 assists for the game. With the loss, Atlanta moved to 11-13 on the year.