Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young erupted for 39 points on Thursday in a win over the Chicago Bulls, and proceeded to trash-talk rookie Ayo Dosunmu in the process.
Young finished by shooting 11-of-18 from the field, including 7-of-9 from 3-point range, in the 130-124 win. He also dished out 13 assists and hauled in three rebounds as the Hawks have won four out of their last six games to improve to 30-32.
Dosunmu drew the assignment of guarding Young, and the two-time All-Star had his way with the 38th pick this time around. According to NBA matchup data, Young scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field with Dosunmu as his primary defender.
Young delivered the dagger to put the Hawks up four points with 1:13 left after draining a 26-foot stepback 3-pointer over Dosunmu. He looked to the crowd and yelled out: “He can’t guard me!”
“he cant guard me.” pic.twitter.com/XkrSEw6HVZ
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 4, 2022
The outburst by Young came one week after the Hawks suffered a four-point loss to the Bulls in Chicago. Young had 14 points and 10 assists but struggled from the field, shooting just 3-of-17. Dosunmu held him to 3-of-10 shooting and managed to block his shot twice.
The defensive display immediately went viral on social media with fans anointing Dosunmu the “Trae Young stopper” afterward. Young seemingly saw the noise and wanted to remind everyone that he is an All-Star for a reason.
Ayo had a great defensive game against us. I felt like there were some shots that I had open (last week) that I could have made against them. Prior to the break, with a lot of the travel, I felt like my legs weren’t there and I put that loss on me and I felt like I could have been better. Tonight, I owed my team one to come get a win.
Dosunmu has emerged as a key player for the Bulls and has dazzled at times on both ends of the floor. He is often tasked with guarding the best player on the opposing team and fully welcomes that challenge, something that is a bit rare for a first-year player.
Of course, completely shutting down an elite player like Young is easier said than done. However, Dosunmu will continue to take on those assignments and the Bulls are fully confident in him in those situations.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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