Trae Young injury update: Guard to miss Hawks' next two games with ankle sprain

Tom Gatto

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Trae Young injury update: Guard to miss Hawks' next two games with ankle sprain image

The Hawks found out Thursday just how long point guard Trae Young will be out with a left ankle sprain.

Young turned the ankle on a shot attempt late in the third quarter of Atlanta's overtime loss to the Knicks on Wednesday and did not return. He needed assistance as he walked off the court and into the locker room at New York's Madison Square Garden.

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Atlanta coach Nate McMillan told reporters after the game that X-rays on the ankle were negative. Young was scheduled for an MRI exam Thursday. 

The MRI showed a lateral sprain of the ankle. The Associated Press reported Thursday night that Young is out for the Hawks' next two games, vs. the Heat on Friday and vs. the Bucks on Sunday.

Young posted an optimistic update on Twitter after the game.

Young posted 20 points and 14 assists in 30 minutes before he was hurt. The Hawks led 95-87 when they lost Young, the team's leader in scoring and assists; they wound up losing 137-127 in OT and fell to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks moved past them into fourth.

Lou Williams is the Hawks' top option to replace Young in the lineup. Williams, 34, has been serving in his customary sixth-man role with Atlanta after coming over from the Clippers in a deal that sent Rajon Rondo to LA at the NBA trade deadline March 25.

This article has been updated with the results of Young's MRI exam.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.