NBA Playoffs: Trae Young-Less Hawks Defeat Bucks in Game 4

Trae Young's absence late in the second half of the Game 3 matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks allowed the visiting team to get a significant advantage. Although Young returned to the court for the Hawks to try and climb back, it was already too late.

At that point, the Bucks secured a 2-1 lead over the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Young had hoped to return to the floor for Game 4, but the Hawks wouldn't allow it. Dealing with a deep bone bruise in his right foot, Young was downgraded from questionable to out just an hour before tip-off.

Without Young on the floor on Tuesday night, the Hawks relied on their veteran guard Lou Williams to fill a notable void. In the first seven minutes of action on Tuesday, Williams collected seven points and helped the Hawks get off to a 25-22 start through the first quarter of Game 4.

Then in the second quarter, the Hawks took advantage of Milwaukee's shooting struggles and managed to outscore the Bucks by ten points, gaining a notable 51-38 lead over Milwaukee before heading into halftime.

From then on, things went from bad to worse for the Bucks. Throughout the first half, Milwaukee's stars failed to shine. Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed just six points on the offensive end. Khris Middleton, who dominated the Hawks in Game 3, struggled from the field as he shot 3-10 in his first 21 minutes.

Although the Bucks improved in the second half after shooting just 34-percent from the field in the first two quarters, they lost their star Antetokounmpo after he collected eight points in the first five minutes coming out of the half.

Leaving the court with a suspected knee injury, the situation didn't look too good for the Bucks and their star. While it was a good sign to see Antetokounmpo return to Milwaukee's bench after going to the locker room, the Bucks ruled the former MVP out for the rest of the game.

At that point, the game was out of reach. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Bucks trailed the Hawks 87-62. As both teams started allowing reserves to pick up minutes, it was clear Milwaukee accepted defeat and started looking forward to Game 5, which will take place at the Fiserv Forum. With a 110-88 victory over the Bucks, the Hawks even the Eastern Conference Finals series 2-2