Trae Young ejected after fiery exchange with referee

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young was ejected Monday against the Denver Nuggets after a frustrated exchange with the referees.

Young was tossed from the East-West clash between the Hawks and Nuggets at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga.

The Hawks trailed 99-86 with less than 30 seconds left in the third quarter. As Nuggets guard Christian Braun shot a pair of free throws, Young was fuming over what he believed to be a missed foul call on his last shot attempt.

The 2-time All-Star began defiantly clapping, which led to official Brent Haskill calling Young for a technical foul. As tempers flared, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder was also slapped with a tech. Soon after, Young was given his second technical and subsequently ejected from the contest.

Trae Young ejected 😳 pic.twitter.com/m9IbQ0BVh5

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 12, 2023

In the previous possession, Young took some contact on an off-balance floater while being defended by Nuggets forward Peyton Watson. No whistle was blown on the play. Instead, Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic was called for a foul a few seconds later.

Young ended his night with 19 points, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers.

Atlanta was unable to mount a comeback without their star point guard. The Nuggets beat the Hawks 129-122 despite a career-high 40 points from Bogdanovic and 21 from Dejounte Murray.