Former Illinois point guard got into a heated altercation with Trae Young

Illinois great Ayo Dosunmu got into a heated exchange with the Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young, which led to a bench-clearing brawl at half court.

Dosunmu, a 2020-21 Consensus All-American in college, was one of the most important players to come from the Illini program. The Chicago, Illinois, product's collegiate accomplishments were a mile long, which included him winning the USA Today National Player of the Year and the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year.

Dosunmu was a true leader for Brad Underwood's squad, helping to lead Illinois to multiple NCAA tournaments during his tenure. His talents made him one of the top prospects out of college, leading to Dosunmu being drafted by his hometown Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft.

The former first-team All-American has had a nice transition to the pros since his draft night, averaging 14.4 points and 3.0 assists off the bench in his fifth year with the Bulls. But on Tuesday night, things came to a head for the great No. 11 against one of the best guards in the league.

It was a holiday season donnybrook in Atlanta on Tuesday night

It was a highly contested bout between two mid-tier Eastern Conference squads. The Atlanta Hawks, led by Young, were looking to snap their three-game losing streak against the Bulls, but Dosunmu and Co. had other plans, taking down their foes by a score of 126-123.

These two teams went back and forth until the bitter end, with Chicago surging back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to come away with the win. But it was this moment halfway through the fourth frame that really made headlines across the sports world.

During a stoppage in play with just under seven minutes to go, Dosunmu was making his way back to the bench after being subbed out for fellow guard Tre Jones. On his way to the bench, he passed by Young, who decided to give him a swift pat on the keester as a way to get in his head.

This moment sparked a heated confrontation between the two guards, which ended up causing the benches to clear. It became an NBA-style brawl in the center of the court, which included tons of shoving and name-calling before being broken up by the coaches and refs. The moment eventually fizzled out, but it ended up giving the Bulls the spark they needed to come back and win.

That was such a surprising moment by Ayo Dosunmu

Dosunmu has that leadership mentality; we all know that. He has the heart of a lion and will fight for himself and his team at any moment of the game. But he also has an uncanny ability to stay cool under pressure, especially in the face of juvenile acts from the opposition.

In Tuesday night's altercation with Young, however, we saw something a bit out of the ordinary from Chicago's backup point guard. In the years I've been watching Dosunmu play, I've never really seen him act like that. Dosunmu let a crafty veteran like Young get into his head, and he responded in a way that's not normal for him.

Sure, it sort of backfired for the former Oklahoma Sooner, as the Bulls ended up using this moment as a spark to help pull off the road win. But besides all of that, the former Illini allowed another player to rent space in his head in a crucial game.

Not a great look as we move down the stretch, especially with both of these teams fighting to stay in the playoff hunt.