A Knicks fan sitting near the floor spat in the direction of Hawks star Trae Young in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's game.
The Knicks have banned the fan who spat on Hawks star Trae Young in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's Game 2.
The team said in a statement Thursday they "investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who is not a season ticket holder, did indeed spit on Trae Young, and for that reason, he is now banned from The Garden indefinitely."
"We apologize to Trae and the entire Atlanta Hawks organization for this fan's behavior. This was completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our venue. We have turned the information over to the appropriate authorities."
With just more than eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's Game 2 between the Hawks and Knicks, the New York fan sitting near the floor spat at Young.
Young acknowledged the incident after the game, sharing his response on Twitter.
Young tagged rapper 50 Cent in the tweet since it appears as if the spit lands on or just past a woman who was sitting next to the rapper.
Young scored 30 points in Wednesday's 101–92 loss to the Knicks, which evened the series at 1–1. That marked Young's second 30-point game of the series, as the All-Star guard scored 32 points, including a game-winning floater with less than a second to play, in Game 1.
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Following Game 1, Young addressed what it was like to play in Madison Square Garden, saying, “I’m glad fans are back, MSG was rocking tonight, and I’m glad everyone got to experience it. I definitely know the history of players coming in here and being hated, and I take that as a compliment, to be honest with you,” Young said. “I’m obviously doing something right if you hate me this much. I just embrace it and focus on helping my team get the win. At the end of the day, we’ll get the last laugh, if we do that.”
The incident involving Young came on the same night that a fan in Philadelphia dumped popcorn on Wizards star Russell Westbrook as he left the court after injuring his right ankle in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's Game 2.
Wizards trainers and assistants who were helping Westbrook to the locker room had to restrain Westbrook after the incident, as the former MVP angrily yelled and pointed into the stands.
The Sixers fan involved in the Westbrook incident had his season ticket membership revoked and was subsequently banned from future events at Wells Fargo Center.
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