The Atlanta Hawks were dealt a major blow during Sunday’s 113-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. Hawks’ star Trae Young headed to the locker room with less than 30 seconds left in the third quarter due to an ankle injury.
The injury occurred on a play with less than 36 seconds left in the third quarter. Young had the ball stolen from him by Jrue Holiday, and as he turned to try and run back on defense, Young stepped back onto the referee’s foot. He sprained his ankle and stayed down until play was stopped. The Hawks’ star then went to the locker room to be examined by the team’s medical staff. He was diagnosed with an ankle sprain and given the all-clear to return to the game.
The point guard returned early in the fourth quarter but was noticeably in pain. Atlanta head coach Nate McMillan admitted that the point guard was sore. “When he came back to the bench, I was told that he was available,” McMillan said. “Once he got out there, and I saw he wasn’t moving well when I took him out for the last few seconds, he couldn’t go back. I was basically looking to rotate his offense/defense, and he just couldn’t go back.”
Before his injury, the young star was performing well on the offense. He scored 14 points in the first quarter alone. He recorded his 32 points on 11-for-19 shooting and went 5-for-11 from three-point range.
“It’s sore right now. It’s hurting. It’s frustrating,” Young said. “Yeah, it’s hurting a little bit, and it’s sore. I got some treatment on it. I’m going to go get some more in the morning. That’s all I can do right now is get treatment.”
“When I came back in, it was kind of sore. It made me mad. I couldn’t really go as fast as I wanted to, and when I did, it hurt. So I’ve just got to get treatment and hopefully get it better for the next game.”
Young will be available for Game 4 on Tuesday night in Atlanta. The Bucks currently lead the series 2-1. The Hawks are considering Game 4 a must-win game since they travel to Milwaukee for Game 5 and Game 7 if necessary.
