Trae Young was not a happy camper in the aftermath of the Atlanta Hawks' disappointing 118-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at State Farm Arena on Wednesday. Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said Young has every right to feel frustrated after what appeared to be a missed foul call committed on the All-Star guard in the final seconds.

Pierce addressed the controversial non-call that ultimately cost his team the win, revealing how the referees explained it to him (via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic).

“I got an answer that said, ‘I spared Trae. It should've been an illegal screen.' It was a perfect screen. Willie Cauley-Stein ran Trae over. That's a foul. It blows up our play. It's unfortunate. Trae was fouled.”

Young was visibly livid after the play, while Pierce aired out his frustration with the tough defeat.

“It's really unfortunate that the game ended that way. Trae sets a great screen. It should have been a foul. We should've had the basketball after the free throw on the side. Just disappointed with the way that game ended.”

With under five ticks left in the final period, Pierce drew up a pick-and-pop play for Young, who would act as the screener to set up an open look for himself. But the plan never really materialized after he was pushed to the ground by Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein. Officials didn't blow the whistle on the play, forcing Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari to create his own look, missing an off-balance jumper at the horn, allowing the Mavericks to escape with a one-point win.

Trae Young's stellar outing went for naught as he finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and 15 assists. As far as Lloyd Pierce is concerned, he could only hope the NBA will review the final play further.