ATLANTA — Update: The Atlanta Hawks have tied the series to 2-2 with a win against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night at State Farm Arena.
The team was able to pull of the win with star Trae Young out with a foot injury. The final score was 110-88.
The next game will be played on the road in Milwaukee on Thursday, July 1 at 8:30 p.m.
Original story:
The Atlanta Hawks must win Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals to avoid falling into a 1-3 hole against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday at State Farm Arena.
They're going to need to do it without Trae Young in the lineup. He got hurt when he stepped on the foot of a referee during the third quarter of Game 3. Young was able to return to the court with just under 9 minutes remaining and the Hawks nursing a five-point lead. But he was limping noticeably and grimacing in pain every time he dribbled up the court.
An MRI revealed on Monday that he had a bone bruise in his foot and was listed initially as questionable for Tuesday. During a pregame interview, Interim Head Coach Nate McMillian said it would be a "game-time decision" to determine if Young would be able to play.
"We've been in this position where we've had guys out. You know, Trae has missed a game or two and it's really been next man up for us. Guys have stepped in really all season long and they have taken advantage of opportunities like this," he said.
"So we've had injuries this season, a lot of guys had to step in or fill-in to play when that happens. Our guys should be ready to go when called upon."
But just before the game, the Hawks tweeted an injury report listing Young out.
The Hawks will have to rely on a team effort to compensate.
That means Lou Williams playing a bigger role, Collins staying out of foul trouble, and Bogdan Bogdanovic being much more effective than he has been so far in the playoffs.
Bogdanovic, who was Atlanta's biggest free agent signing during the last offseason, has been the most glaring disappointment of the surprising postseason run by the conference's No. 5 seed.
Bothered by a sore knee, Bogdanovic is averaging just 12.3 points in the playoffs and has gone six straight games without reaching double figures. He was awful in Game 3, making just 3 of 16 shots to finish with eight points.
“His shot has not fallen for him, but he’s a guy who I believe that next shot is going down,” coach Nate McMillan previously said. “He had some wide-open looks that I’m willing to trust that he’s going to knock those shots down. It just isn’t falling for him. It hasn’t fallen for him this whole series."
The Hawks need to find a way to stop the Bucks' Khris Middleton, who scored 20 of his NBA playoff career high-tying 38 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3, rallying the Bucks to a 113-102 victory.
McMillan acknowledged the difficulty in shutting down — or at least creating more issues — for Milwaukee's big scorers.
“It’s really a three-headed monster over there with Antetokounmpo as well as Khris and Jrue,” the Hawks coach said. “All of those guys are isolation players. They do a good job of spacing the floor. If you are committing to the ball, then they are more than happy to shoot the 3 ball.”
Jrue Holiday leads the Bucks averaging 6.1 assists while scoring 17.7 points per game. Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.5 points and 12.2 rebounds while shooting 58.4% over the last 10 games for Milwaukee.
Game 4 tips off at 8:30 p.m.