Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young was ejected from their loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night while arguing with an official over what he thought should have been a foul.

Late in the third quarter at State Farm Arena, Young drove through the lane with Nuggets forward Peyton Watson defending him. As Young made his way into the paint, Watson’s right arm got caught reaching in and appeared to even hit Young in the face slightly as Watson lifted it straight up.

No foul was called, however, and Young missed the shot. Then, after Bogdan Bogdanovic fouled Christian Braun following a rebound, Young started arguing with the officials. Things quickly escalated, and Young was hit with two technical fouls and thrown out of the game. Hawks coach Quin Snyder was assessed a technical foul, too.

The sequence led to four free throws for the Nuggets, who then took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter. From there, the Nuggets simply held on to grab the 129-122 win in Atlanta.

Young had 19 points and nine assists when he was ejected. The 25-year-old entered Monday night’s game averaging 27.2 points and a career-high 10.6 assists per game this season, his sixth in the league.

Trae Young

PG - ATL - #11

2023 - 2024 season

25.7

Pts

2.8

Reb

10.8

Ast

1.3

Stl

35:58

Min

Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 40 points off the bench. He shot 10-of-17 from behind the arc, and 14-of-24 from the field in the loss. Dejounte Murray added 21 points and six rebounds, and Saddiq Bey finished with 16 points. The Hawks have now lost four straight.

Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 29 points and nine rebounds. Nikola Jokic was just short of a triple-double in the win, with 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julian Strawther added 22 points off the bench. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Nuggets.