Trae Young briefly exits Game 3 after landing awkwardly on ankle

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young had to exit Game 3 against the Bucks after stepping on an official’s foot and apparently tweaking his ankle.

The Atlanta Hawks had the one injury scare they would have wished to avoid on Sunday during Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Near the end of the third quarter of a tight battle, star guard Trae Young appeared to tweak his ankle and had to leave the game.

Replays showed Young possibly landing awkwardly on the shoe of an official on the sideline, turning his ankle.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1409336114549170176?s=20

The Hawks were holding their breath on Trae Young’s injury

It wasn’t immediately clear just how serious the issue might be. Young spent some time sitting on the court after the slip.

The Hawks announced the injury as a right ankle sprain, but said he would be available to return to action with one quarter to play.

After being shut down by the Bucks in Game 2, Young went to town in Game 3. He had 32 points in the first three quarters. Once he got back in the game, he hit a 3-pointer on his first attempt. Clearly, the ankle didn’t infringe on his shooting ability.

Young has been one of the standout players of the entire NBA Playoffs so far. Going into Game 3, he averaged 29.4 points per game. That’s even accounting for a mere 15 points in Game 2. He had 48 in Game 1 while leading the Hawks to a third straight Game 1 road win, this time in Milwaukee.

It’s fair to say Atlanta wouldn’t be where they are in the Eastern Conference Finals without him. Their chances of making it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1961 would be extremely limited if that ankle got in the way of him playing the rest of the series.