Clint Capela perhaps can recommend a few European hot spots now after following through on his promise to help send the Knicks on a summer vacation.
And Trae Young certainly can — and did — take a deserved bow.
The Hawks’ Swiss-born center backed up his bravado about ending the Knicks’ season with a bruising physical performance Wednesday night, while Young hammered in the final nails with 18 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter of the Hawks’ series-sealing 103-89 victory in Game 5 at the Garden.
“It feels great. Like I said since the beginning of the series, I feel like I’ve worked my whole life for this moment, to play in the playoffs and the biggest stage,” said Young, who took a bow at center court after nailing a 30-foot 3-pointer with 43.7 seconds remaining. “The bow, I did it in high school when I hit a game-winner, too
“But I know where we are, there are a bunch of [Broadway] shows around this city, and I know what they do when the show is over.”
Capela had been outspoken the previous day about sending the Knicks “on vacation,” adding that the opponents’ game plan to play physically and to try to intimidate the Hawks was “not working.”
“This is why I was believing in this group. It was not random. We did the job and sent them on vacation,” said Capela, who finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. “They can go wherever they want [on vacation], but out of our way, that’s all I’m asking.”
Hawks forward John Collins said that Capela’s teammates “had his back” and “knew he would come out and back up” his words.
“I just wanted to come out and do what he said, and send them on vacation, send them home,” Collins added.
Hawks coach Nate McMillan called Capela “the anchor for us defensively” and credited the 6-foot-10 center with helping Atlanta’s series-long shutdown of Knicks leading scorer Julius Randle.
McMillan also called the 22-year-old Young “fearless” and said he had texted the 6-1 point guard before the series started and told him “you are built for this.”
Young, who finished off Game 1 with a last-second floater, heard profane chants involving his name throughout the series and was spit on by a Knicks fan during Game 2.
“It was going to be sweet for me either way, winning the series, either way, whether it was here tonight or we finished it back home,” Young said. “I was going to be feeling good about winning the series regardless, but winning it here with all the fans still chanting the same stuff, it feels good.”