Tempers flared between the Bulls and Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta Tuesday night. Hawks star guard Trae Young was at the center of it, giving a backside tap to Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu as he went to the bench which led to Dosunmu getting in his face and chaos ensuing on the floor.
The mess happened in the fourth quarter with just under seven minutes left in the game and the Hawks out in front by seven points as Dosunmu ran off the floor for a substitution. As he headed toward the Chicago bench, Young gave him a slap on the backside which caused Dosunmu to immediately turn around as the two began to exchange shoves.
Through the madness, it looked like Young extended his arm toward Dosunmu as players and staff members from each side ran in to try and separate the two. Dosunmu looked to have his hand up near Young’s neck in the process, too. You can watch the skirmish below:
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Ayo Dosunmu & Trae Young get into and the benches clear 😳
📺Bulls-Hawks: https://t.co/4tOTm9TeTQ pic.twitter.com/yleJnuDwt9
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) December 24, 2025
The officials handed out double technical fouls to Young and Dosunmu as both players remained in the game. Atlanta led by 18 points in the second quarter and squandered a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter to fall to Chicago 126–123 as the Bulls outscored the Hawks 34–18 in the final frame.
Dosunmu is a strong on-ball defender and has done a great job when guarding Young in matchups between the Bulls and Hawks. Perhaps Atlanta’s four-time All-Star tried to get in the staunch defender’s head in a heated game, leading to tensions boiling toward a brief scuffle.
Young scored 22 points and had 15 assists in the loss, while Dosunmu had six points in 16 minutes off the bench.
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