‘Frustrated’ not being 100% in losing the sixth game

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1:34 a.m. ET

Tim Bontemps

ATLANTA – As the Atlanta Hawks’ season ended with a 118-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, Trae Young walked off the field after the last bell sounded and he shouted one message to the crowded crowd around the tunnel next to the Atlanta seat at State Farm Arena:

“we will be back.”

The final challenge message was from Young, one of the breakout stars of this playoff, having finished 14 points in a 4-for-17 shootout in 40 minutes on Saturday night in his return to action after being knocked out in games 4 and 5 with a. A bone bruise in his right foot and a sprain in his right ankle.

“I feel like we’re going back, and I mean it with all my heart,” Young said.

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Young, who has not done any work on the field other than testing his foot to try to play before each of the past three games, looked tired and did not normally explode. But with Atalanta facing elimination with another loss, he did his best to try to extend his team’s season with another game.

“the message [to the team] “We have no regrets,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “We don’t want any regrets after this game tonight, and we leave everything we have on the floor.

“That’s what I saw from Trae. The fact that he hadn’t done anything on the ground since the injury, it was the first time he had done anything on the ground, so he was exposed to gas.

“That was the message. No regrets at the end of this game. Empty your tank. I thought this group, they did.”

Young, who suffered injuries when referee Sean Wright inadvertently stepped foot in late in the third quarter of Game 3, said that a bone bruise was present on his heel and that it affected him whenever he tried to push it, either to shoot. Float or attack the edge.

But after testing his foot before Game Six – a process he went through before Matches 4 and 5 before deciding he couldn’t play – Young felt comfortable enough to give him a chance.

However, Young was passive for most of the first half. He made his first bucket on a float with 4:56 to go in the first quarter. He then made a powerful move across the defense to the edge to easily hit the ball after taking a technical hit in the middle of the second lane to say too many things to veteran official Eric Lewis.

He only went 2-for-8 for five points in the first half, along with two passes and three turnovers. It was a trend that continued into the second half.

“For me, not being able to be there for my team in two games, and then tonight I just want to fight and try to fight through as much as I can and try to be there for my team, it’s definitely frustrating not being healthy and not being able to give 100 per cent. completely,”

In the end, Young’s classmates didn’t offer much help either. As a team, Atlanta only fired 41.3% from the field. Outside of the impressive shooting performance from second-year striker Cam Reddish, who scored 21 points on 6-for-7 from a 3-point range, the rest of the Hawks were 6-for-26 from deep.

The cold spell at the start of the third quarter, in particular, proved fatal for the Hawks, as the Bucks went 13-2 to start the second half to open a 15-point lead.

Atlanta spent the rest of the game trying to break into that lead. The Hawks managed to hit a distance of six with 3:41 remaining on a dunk by Clint Capela’s center. But Milwaukee responded by suspending Jrue Holiday, a defensive pause and a loose ball error on the Hawks that led to two free throws from Khris Middleton, ending any chance for Atlanta to keep their season alive.

A magical post-season run that saw the Hawks beat two top-seeded opponents – the fourth-seeded New York Knicks in five games and the top-ranked Philadelphia 76ers in seven – before eventually falling to Milwaukee in six games that finally ended.

“It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before,” said striker John Collins, who was making his first trip to the playoffs, like many of the Hawks. “Obviously, feeling like we have a real chance to hold this Larry O’Brien Cup, get a short run, and understand all the positive things we’ve done this year to help us get to that point, all the things I didn’t do or felt that I could have done more or That I was locked up or more focused on my mind as well.

“So it’s just a rush of a lot of emotions that I don’t necessarily understand how to deal with yet, but I can tell you I’m proud of this group and the way we’ve fought and competed up to this point.”

Just four months ago, Atlanta sacked coach Lloyd Pierce, with the team finishing 11th in the East and scoring 14-20. Not only did the Hawks instantly turn things around under Macmillan, going 27-11 to finish the regular season, then stormed the first two rounds of the playoffs before reaching the Conference Finals for only the second time in 50 years.

Along the way, Young has transformed from a player who entered this season with questions about his ability to up his game in the playoffs, as well as his ability to handle targeting in both attack and defense, to a player who not only survived the crucible. These are the playoffs in the NBA but they thrived in them.

“I think it was designed for this time of the season,” Macmillan said. “You need a player who can create the ball and put it in the basket, but create chances for his teammates, and have that confidence he showed on the ground. He is fearless. He doesn’t back down from anyone or any kind of challenge. Teams put on him bigger physical players. And the teams worked with him. They brought him down. They did a lot of the things you do for good players like that.

“This kid is still taking that and finding ways to be productive. I’ve seen a lot of good players and great players in this league, and I think he has that potential. I really think he has that potential. He gives everything he has when he’s out there. This guy. Committed to winning. He is committed to this team. He has talent, a special talent that you need to succeed at this time of year.”

Meanwhile, The Hawks enter the offseason with many questions, including the future of McMillan, who is sure to get a long-term extension and removal of the temporary mark from his title.

“I don’t see a temp in his label here soon,” Young said with a smile, echoing the comments of every player who spoke in the post-match game. “In my opinion, I don’t think this would be a much longer issue.”

On top of that, Atlanta have to figure out the long-term future of Collins, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, and both Young and Kevin Hotter – who also impressed in these playoffs – are poised for a potential contract extension this off-season. .

But as this incredible playoff round comes to a close, the Hawks feel confident that the future in Atlanta is very bright.

“It’s tough,” Young said of winning the playoffs. “It’s not easy. It’s all about the experience. You have to go through it – I mean, you really have to go through this. You see in the West, you see [Chris Paul] He hadn’t seen a Finals in 16 years.

“It’s hard. It’s not easy. You really have to go through it. I think what he did and what he went through really helped the Suns, and what this team went through with the Bucks, they’ve done this point a few times. I know that feeling, they didn’t want to go home Again. I think for us we have the same feeling now, and it’s the same thing.”

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