Trae Young

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young will miss Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews.

"Young exhausted every avenue to try and find a way to return to play, but a severe lack of mobility and significant degree of pain made it impossible," Wojnarowski wrote.

Beyond the obvious reasons, Atlanta's Game 3 loss to the Bucks proved costly as Young suffered a bone bruise in his right foot. The team initially listed him as questionable for Game 4.

Teammate John Collins summed up the situation.

"That's the head of our snake," he told reporters of the 2020 All-Star. "That's the last thing I feel like anybody who is a Hawks supporter wants to see is that dude coming down with any sort of knickknack or whatever it is. I think he stepped on the official's foot or somebody's foot."

Young nearly averaged a double-double (25.3 points and 9.4 assists) during the regular season, and he has been the main spark behind Atlanta's run to the conference finals.

Through 15 postseason contests, he's putting up 29.8 points and 9.5 assists per game, and his self-confidence has been infectious.

Young isn't the only reason for the Hawks' success, as the offseason additions of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari have proved valuable. Clint Capela has been excellent after finally getting to suit up for the team, and De'Andre Hunter emerged as the two-way talent Atlanta expected when it landed him in the 2019 draft.

Still, Atlanta's hopes of reaching the NBA Finals rest firmly on Young's availability and on-court performance. 

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young suffered a bone bruise to his right foot and is listed as questionable for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks at State Farm Arena on Tuesday, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.  

On Monday night, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said there is "real concern" over Young's status for Game 4:

The dynamic playmaker is averaging 29.8 points and 9.5 assists over 15 games this postseason. 

Young sprained his ankle during Game 3 of the series after accidentally stepping on the foot of a referee along the sidelines in the third quarter. The point guard soon exited the floor and was treated in the locker room before returning in the fourth quarter. 

After the Bucks won Sunday's game, 113-102, to take a 2-1 series lead, Young said his ankle was bothering him.

"It's sore right now," he told reporters. "It's hurting, it's frustrating ... it's hurting a little bit and it's sore." 

The team scheduled an MRI for Young the following day and continued to provide treatment in the hope he'd be feeling better for Game 4 in Atlanta. While the guard poured in 35 points in Game 3, he notched just three points in the fourth quarter after his injury, shooting 1-of-4 from the floor.

Young explained how the "freaky bad accident" limited his mobility late in the game. 

"Really just my blow-by speed," Young said. "I mean, that's a big part of my game, is my ability just to blow by anybody. And when you're on the left side and you're trying to blow by, you got to use your right foot."

Now the Hawks will have to find away to work through Young's latest setback as Atlanta seeks to keep its season alive. Expect interim head coach Nate McMillan to rely more on Lou Williams, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kris Dunn and Tony Snell to make up for Young's absence. 

Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young will undergo an MRI on Monday morning after suffering an ankle injury during the third quarter of Sunday night's 113-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3.

Young left the game briefly after tweaking his ankle, an injury that occurred after he appeared to inadvertently step on a ref's foot:

The Hawks star was able to return early in the fourth quarter, but he was not able to help his team pull out the victory. He finished with 35 points (12-of-23 shooting, including 6-of-14 from three-point range) and four assists in the loss.

Atlanta will have a chance to try to even the series with Game 4 on Tuesday.

Young, 22, remains one of the game's brightest young stars and Atlanta's most valuable talent, averaging 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game this season. Any chance the Hawks have of making a deep run in the postseason hinges solely on a healthy Young playing well. 

The young Hawks have been one of the feel-good stories this season, as offseason additions Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari have paired nicely with Atlanta's young core of Young, John Collins and DeAndre Hunter, among others. 

Young most recently missed four games in April with a left ankle sprain. Atlanta went 2-2 in that stretch. 

"I always try to battle back (from injury) and get back to the court as fast as possible," he said in April after returning. "I was just doing a lot of treatment, and (Atlanta's training staff) did a great job helping me to get back on the court."

Atlanta will be hoping his current injury isn't too serious. Should Young miss time or be limited, Lou Williams could be asked to play an even bigger role.

Two weeks ago, the Milwaukee Bucks were a game away from elimination and Mike Budenholzer's job was on the line.

Now, they're two games away from the NBA Finals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and Khris Middleton added 38, as the Bucks scored a 113-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Bucks hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. 

Trae Young scored 35 to lead the Hawks, but no other Atlanta starter had more than 13 points.

Notable Stats

Bucks

F Giannis Antetokounmpo: 33 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists
F Khris Middleton: 38 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists

Hawks

G Trae Young: 35 points, 4 assists

Khris Middleton Exorcising Playoff Demons

Milwaukee fell short in two successive postseasons as Antetokounmpo's supporting cast, which includes Middleton, failed to provide enough support to push the team over the hump.

With the offseason acquisition of Jrue Holiday, the Bucks added someone they thought could better fill that role. But on Sunday night, Middleton looked more than capable of playing the role of the second star alongside Antetokounmpo.

In Game 3, Middleton scorched the back of the net, stepped into the spotlight and perhaps exorcised those postseason demons once and for all. Twenty of his 38 points came in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a run where he scored eight of Milwaukee's 10 points as the Bucks went from down seven to up three with 5:13 remaining.

This performance can be added to his 38-point effort in Game 6 and 35-point night in Game 3 against Brooklyn as moments he's come up huge when the Bucks needed him most in this playoff run. He also hit a game-winner in overtime against the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the first round and hit the winning bucket, also in overtime, against the Nets in Round 2.

Middleton hasn't always been the type of star who can put together these performances every night.

His 6-of-23 outing in Game 1 can attest to that. But that's fine now. Middleton can be brilliant on some nights, shaky on others—and Holiday's hopefully going to be able to pick up the slack on nights where he can't quite fit the bill.

There wasn't any question where the second-in-command performance was coming from Sunday, though. 

Trae Can't Do It Alone...

...even though he can get pretty close. Young atoned for his ugly Game 2 effort with a brilliant scoring performance in Game 3, but the fact he finished with just four assists should tell you all you need to know about his supporting cast. 

Bogdan Bogdanovic, playing through a knee injury, has been dealing with some struggles lately. Bogdanovic shot 3-of-16 from the floor, leaving him at a robust 28.3 percent. He hasn't scored more than eight points since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

John Collins was 6-of-8 from the floor but spent all night in foul trouble. With Lou Williams failing to provide a prolonged spark off the bench in 18 minutes and Kevin Huerter putting together an average effort from beyond the arc, Young had nowhere to turn but himself when it came to scoring.

These Hawks have played a Young-centric style all season, yes, but their playoff run has been defined by the role players stepping up. Two straight games, they've failed in that task. 

The Trae Young who shimmied his way into NBA playoff history in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks was nowhere to be found in Game 2.

As the Bucks evened the series at 1-1 with a ferocious 125-91 victory, Young looked like a shell of himself, scoring 15 points on 18 shot attempts while shooting one-of-eight from behind the arc. He didn't hide his disgust with those numbers afterward: 

The loss may not have been entirely Young's fault, but without his signature playmaking and scoring that led to his 48-point outing in Game 1, there was little the Hawks could do to keep up with Milwaukee on Friday, especially after the Bucks used a 20-0 run in the second quarter to grab a 32-point lead at half. 

In fact, Game 2 marked the first time all postseason Young failed to score at least 20 minutes, and it resulted in the Hawks' largest loss of the playoffs. That's hardly a coincidence. 

Young knows it too. It's why he's taking Friday's loss personally. Now, he just has to find a way to make up for it with the series shifting to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4. 

The Milwaukee Bucks bounced back from a stunning Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks to notch a 125-91 Game 2 victory in the Eastern Conference Finals at Fiserv Forum to even the series at 1-1. 

Two nights after Trae Young poured in 48 points in a 116-113 road win, the Bucks held the Atlanta star to 15 points as Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo went off for 25 points in 29 minutes.    

A Milwaukee team that hasn't reached the NBA Finals since 1974 will now try to steal a road game at State Farm Arena as the series shifts to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4. 

Notable Performers

Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF, Milwaukee Bucks: 25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals

Jrue Holiday, PG, Milwaukee Bucks: 22 points, 7 assists, 3-of-4 three-pointers

Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks: 15 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals

John Collins, PF, Atlanta Hawks: 11 points, 8 rebounds

Atlanta's Second-Quarter Meltdown

The Bucks proved they could compete with the Hawks for a full 48 minutes, but there were five minutes in the second quarter that really cost Atlanta an opportunity to go up 2-0 in the series. 

Milwaukee outscored the Hawks 43-17 to go into the locker room with a more than 30-point lead, as a shellshocked Hawks club tried to figure out what just happened. 

Really, it wasn't that hard to dissect. 

After Young drilled a 23-foot pull-up jumper with 6:25 remaining, Atlanta went on to miss five consecutive shots. Over five minutes, Young also committed three turnovers on consecutive possessions, including one right after a Hawks timeout. Each turnover led to an easy Bucks basket. 

It didn't help that Young was pressing on offense as much as possible, taking 11 shots outside of the paint and just five in the lane. He finished the night 6-of-16 from the field (1-of-8 from three), a shadow of the player who tormented the Bucks in Game 1. 

Meanwhile, Milwaukee had four players score in double figures, won the points-in-the-paint battle 62-30 and nailed 15 three-pointers to Atlanta's nine. 

A combination of a cold-shooting Hawks offense that routinely settled for shots and a Bucks team desperate to avoid an 0-2 deficit proved to be more than Atlanta could overcome. 

Whatever good vibes the Hawks had after stealing Game 1 were wiped away. As the series moves to Atlanta, it's the Bucks carrying the momentum. 

Giannis Dialed In

Antetokounmpo barely took four minutes to show he was dialed in. 

With 7:50 to play in the first quarter, he spun under the outstretched arm of Solomon Hill, fooling Clint Capela by pump-faking with one hand mid-flight before laying the ball in softly.

The move begs for a slow-motion replay to admire it in its full beauty. 

It was also the type of moment Antetokounmpo would pull off possession after possession. Part of the reason for that was the Greek Freak's insistence on driving to score rather than settling for three-pointers like he did in a second-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.

Antetokounmpo took just three attempts from beyond the arc Friday after attempting two in Game 1. He has yet to hit from behind the arc in the conference finals, but that hardly mattered. All but five of his 18 field-goal attempts came in the lane. Nine of his 11 makes came at the rim, where there was nothing Atlanta could do to stop him. 

If this is the Milwaukee's plan of attack to get to the NBA Finals, it's one the team may be able to rely on. After all, Antetokounmpo was a back-to-back league MVP.

Few players in the world are capable of stopping Antetokounmpo when he's at the rim. Even with Capela and Collins roaming the paint, Atlanta showed it's going to have a tough time slowing him down. 

Unfortunately, the Hawks only have two days to figure out how to do it. 

What's Next? 

Game 3 moves to State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday on TNT. 

If the Atlanta Hawks want to, they can win the championship. 

At least that's what Trae Young believes. 

"I think we can go as far as we want to," the Hawks guard told reporters after leading his team to a 116-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Wednesday's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. "I believe in this team, and we believe in each other."

Winning a title becomes much more realistic if Young continues to play like he did Wednesday.

He was brilliant on his way to 48 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. He wasted no time finding the holes in Milwaukee's defense and attacking with a mix of floaters in the lane and outside shots when defenders backed up to cut off his driving path.

The result was 25 points by halftime, but he was arguably better in the second half while busting out a number of lobs to John Collins—one of which he threw off the backboard—and even throwing in a shoulder shimmy before he launched a wide-open three-pointer.

When it appeared the Bucks would finally pull away—up seven in the final five minutes behind the impressive play of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday—Young answered by setting up Collins for multiple baskets and hitting clutch free throws down the stretch.

That, along with a monster putback off an offensive rebound to give the Hawks the lead for good by Clint Capela, was enough to steal Game 1 on the road.

Atlanta was the secondary storyline to the raucous crowds at Madison Square Garden early in the first round until Young stole the show. It was the secondary storyline to the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers trying to finally break through in the second round until Young stole the show. And he is already starting to steal the show from Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the early going of the third round.

A trip to the NBA Finals is just three wins away as Young continues to ascend to superstar status in this postseason.