Knicks and their fans will get another look at Hawks villain Trae Young in Monday’s matinee

GREENBURGH — One by one, the Knicks collectively shrugged immediately after it happened.

Thirty-nine days later, they collectively shrugged when it was brought up again.

There is something to be said for consistency.

No, Trae Young’s rolling-of-the-dice center-court pantomime act  certainly is not top of mind for the Knicks heading into Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee against the Hawks, even if they fully acknowledge the less-than-cordial history between Atlanta’s sharpshooting guard and the fans at the Garden.

“If he embraces it, great for him,” Jalen Brunson said Sunday when asked about Young reveling in the loathing he receives from Knicks fans. “I think that dates before I even got here. So I guess the fan base and him had something deeper before obviously me getting here.”

Young comfortably resides among the pantheon of the Garden’s all-time villains alongside Denis Potvin, Reggie Miller, the Broad Street Bullies and the mid-to-late-1990s Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers squads.

He began to build his notoriety during the teams’ 2021 first-round playoff series. In  subsequent years, Young has happily reinforced his reputation among Knicks fans, with the latest installment taking place in the final seconds of a 108-100 loss to the Hawks on Dec. 11 at the Garden.

The Knicks (27-16) won nine straight games after that loss, extending their hot streak to 19 victories in 23 games,  but have followed that by dropping six of nine.

“We weren’t playing the right way on both ends, and that’s what made him do that,” Mikal Bridges said. “If we played better on both ends, he wouldn’t have been [able to do that].”

To that end, the Knicks spent Sunday preparing for a team that  already has beaten them twice  and waiting to learn about the status of Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart.

Although both players participated in practice, neither was available during the question-and-answer session with reporters. When the NBA released its injury report, Towns (sprained right thumb) and Hart (cervical compression in neck) were listed as questionable.

“We’ll see where they are tomorrow,” Tom Thibodeau said. “They were fine.”

Towns did not play in Friday night’s 116-99 loss to Minnesota, missing a second straight game.   Hart was injured when he was shoved into teammate Jericho Sims by Jaden McDaniels in the third quarter. He went to the locker room and returned shortly thereafter but  appeared to aggravate the injury on a fourth-quarter layup attempt.

Hart, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in 38 minutes, was not in the locker room when it was opened to reporters after the game.

“I’m not surprised,” Brunson said when asked about Hart returning to play  after the collision. “The competitor he is, he wants to get out there. If he feels good enough to play, I just know he’s going to play. That’s who he is.”