ATLANTA - Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young said he was suffering from aches and pains in his sprained right ankle after Sunday's 113-102 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, adding that it was "hopefully" Tuesday night's Game 4 Looks better.
"It's sore right now," said Young, who finished with 35 points - but only three in fourth - and four assists in 39 minutes in Sunday's loss, and said he would go to get an MRI on the ankle on Monday morning. are. "It's hurting, it's depressing... It's hurting a little and it's sore.
"I've had some treatment for it. I'm going to take some more in the morning. All I can do right now is get treated."
The play in which Young suffered an injury came with 36 seconds in the third quarter, when Young - after Jrue Holiday had stolen the ball from him - inadvertently stepped on the right foot of referee Sean Wright, who stood outside the boundary. from, and fell to the ground.
Young, who was not walking with a noticeable limp when he came in and out of the postgame news conference inside the State Farm Arena, eventually got on his feet and walked into the locker room, with a slight limp, returning early in the fourth. Aya Hawks has 8:44 left to lead 93-88. From there, however, it was all Milwaukee, as the Bucks closed out the game with a 25–9 run—thanks to khris Middleton himself outscoring the entire Hawks team (20-17) in the fourth quarter—in control. One to two games in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals to regain.
Young played 7:53 in the fourth quarter, finishing with 3 points on 1-for-4 shooting, and admitted that he struggled to push the way he normally does, especially the Hawks. Guard Bogdan points a pass to Bogdanovic where he was in pain coming back on the court after driving and trying to plant that right foot.
"Really just my jerk-speed," Young said. "I mean, it's a big part of my game, it's my ability to blow anybody. And when you're on the left and you're trying to dodge, you've got to be on your right foot." have to be used."
Later, Hawks coach Nate McMillan admitted that Young was "pained" when he checked back into the game, and said that once he knocked Young out of the game with 51.1 seconds - and with the Bucks He won't be putting his star guard back in - under firm control, 10 onwards.
"When he came back on the bench, I was told he was available," McMillan said. "Once he got out of there, and I noticed he wasn't moving properly, when I took him out for the last few seconds, he couldn't go back. I basically told him to turn offense/defense. was looking for, and he just couldn't go back."
By the time Young stepped onto Wright's ankle, he was making his way with the Bucks. After struggling in Game 2, ending with 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting with nine turnovers in the Bucks' win, he had 32 points on 11-for-19 shooting, including a 5-for- 11 3-point range and 14 points in the first quarter alone.
"Definitely," he said, when asked if his warm start added any disappointment to his post-game state. "Especially because we had the lead and we were doing well. We had a lot of pace.
"Just one weird bad accident, and that's what happens."
Young, who said he had not spoken to Wright about the incident, and sarcastically stated that he would now have "eyes in the back of his head" to avoid stepping on the referee on such plays in the future, He was away the only offender in the cold stretch of Atlanta in fourth. When Middleton was on fire, the Hawks were collectively ice-cold, scoring four shots and scoring nine points in the final nine minutes of the game.
It was enough for the Hawks to slip a game they controlled for large parts, leapfrogging a 15-point lead in the first quarter and leading most of the first three.
"Obviously, there are times when he takes us, but we have to loosen up a little bit," Hawks guard Kevin Huerter said. "Just couldn't make the shot down the stretch there. Trai clearly wasn't the same. There was just one weird thing - he rolls it at the referee.
"Some things are out of your control, but we have to be there to pick him up a bit, and we didn't tonight."
But while the Hawks were dismayed about the opportunity they let go of him, Huerter was quick to remind everyone that Atlanta also lost Game 3 at home against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals two games away. was down from one.
And, with the Hawks still playing, it's proof that things aren't over for Atlanta just yet.
"I wouldn't say we're in a great place," Huerter said with a smile. "Obviously, we will be up 2-1.
"But it's not a place we're not familiar with."