National Basketball Association

Did Trae Young's ankle injury decide the Hawks' loss to the Bucks in Game 3?

Updated Jun. 28, 2021 2:29 p.m. ET

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The Eastern Conference finals have taken another intriguing turn following an injury to a key player – arguably the key player.

Trae Young was cruising for the Atlanta Hawks against the Milwaukee Bucks through three quarters in Game 3, but a misstep with a referee left the 22-year-old with a tweaked right ankle in the closing seconds of the third.

It was pure accident that Young stepped back into referee Sean Wright, who was out of bounds at the time, but it's an unfortunate blow for the Hawks nonetheless.

Atlanta was up 85-82 at the time of the incident, which happened with about 36 seconds left in the third. Although Young returned to play in the fourth, he didn't look like his normal self.

The Hawks went on to lose the game 113-102, giving the Bucks a 2-1 series advantage in the Eastern Conference finals. After the game, Young addressed how his ankle was feeling.

"It's sore right now," Young said. "It's hurting. It's frustrating. … I came back in, and it was just kind of sore. It made me mad I couldn't really go as fast as I wanted to, and then when I did, it hurt." 

As mentioned, Young's struggles were evident in the nearly eight minutes he played in the fourth quarter.

After starting the game 11-for-19 from the floor for 32 points prior to the injury, he finished the game with 35 total points. In 7:53 of game time in the fourth, he went 1-for-4 from the field, didn't register an assist and didn't take a free throw.

As Young put it, his "blow-by speed" was sapped with the ailing ankle.

"That's a big part of my game, is my ability just to blow by anybody," he said. "And when you're on the left side and you're trying to blow by, you got to use your right foot." 

To Skip Bayless of "Undisputed," Young's accident ultimately decided Atlanta's unfortunate fate.

"If he had been Trae Young, all caps, I believe they would have gotten that home because that crowd was crazed with Cam there ⁠— Cam Newton was there … Floyd Mayweather Jr. was there," Bayless said. "It just felt like one of those electric event nights when it would have been Trae Young's night to shine."

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Shannon Sharpe had a different read on the evening's events, however.

Sharpe pointed toward Khris Middleton's sensational fourth quarter, in which the Bucks' star poured in 20 of his 38 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

In fact, Middleton's 20 points in the final frame were more than the 17 the Hawks scored as a team. Coupled with 33 points from mega-star Giannis Antetokounmpo over the course of the game, that's a lot to overcome.

"When you get Khris Middleton going for 38 and 10, and you get Giannis going for 33 and 11, 33 and 12, they're going to be very, very difficult to beat," Sharpe said. "… I do not believe that [Young's injury] had an impact on the game. I don't believe [the Hawks] would have won because, Skip, once the Bucks got rolling in fourth, they had no answer for that."

Shannon Sharpe breaks down the Bucks' Game 3 win over Atlanta, Trae Young's injury ' UNDISPUTED

Hear what Shannon Sharpe had to say about Trae Young's injury and whether it determined the outcome of the game.

Speaking of rolling, for now, the Hawks will await the results of Monday's scheduled MRI on Young's rolled ankle.

If Atlanta's spark plug is unavailable, Chris Broussard said on "First Things First" that he doesn't see much room for optimism in Atlanta.

If Young is on the shelf for good, the clock could be striking midnight on Atlanta's fairytale run through the playoffs. 

Game 4 of the series is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.

For more up-to-date news on all things NBA, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

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National Basketball Association

Trae Young

Atlanta Hawks

Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Khris Middleton

Chris Broussard

Skip Bayless

Shannon Sharpe

First Things First

Skip and Shannon: Undisputed