Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks built an early lead in the first quarter of Game 3, leading many to believe they were on their way to taking a 2-1 lead in the series.
Unfortunately, the Bucks ended up taking the win, thanks to an explosive performance from Khris Middleton and a minor injury to Trae Young.
With less than a minute to go in the third, Trae stepped on the foot of an official and then headed to the locker room shortly thereafter.
Trae Young heads to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury
Prayers up 🙏 https://t.co/KqbwUuUHMr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 28, 2021
The NBA community took a comedic approach to it, joking that the referee may have cost Atlanta their season…
Hawks fans looking at the ref that Trae Young tweaked his ankle on rn like: pic.twitter.com/c0U9hn74QE
— Danny Armstrong (@DArmstrong44) June 28, 2021
“make sure trae young steps on your foot and hurts his ankle” #MILvsATL pic.twitter.com/62EGV5nUyg
— aksndjsnansns (@aksndjsnansns) June 28, 2021
The refs bota cost the Hawks the game sprainin Trae young ankle
— Naji (@NAJINEEDITALL) June 28, 2021
To the ref that Trae Young tweaked his ankle on pic.twitter.com/3uUXNLVHbG
— AC, Esq. (@a_coleman25) June 28, 2021
Obviously, nobody is actually blaming the refs for Young’s injury. These things happen, and the ref was simply doing his job.
Whether or not Trae will return for Game 4 remains to be seen, but it will be a tall task for the Hawks to pull off a win without him.
In the end, though, it’s not a good idea to count out this Hawks team. They are resilient and, even with their backs against the wall, they know how to respond.
With the series at 2-1, it’s still anyone’s to win, and the hope is that Trae won’t have to miss Game 4 at all. We’ll just have to wait and see.
