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Tim BontempsESPN
MILWAUKEE — Superstar guard Trae Young is back from a two-game absence as the Atlanta Hawks try to keep their season alive in Saturday’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Young was a game-time decision for the third straight game because of a bone bruise in his right foot and sprained right ankle suffered when he inadvertently stepped on referee Sean Wright’s foot late in the third quarter of Game 3.
Young tested his foot before Game 6 — a process he went through before Games 4 and 5 before deciding he couldn’t play — and felt good enough to play.
In his pregame media session, Hawks coach Nate McMillan said that Young was at shootaround with the team Saturday morning, echoing what guard Kevin Huerter had said earlier in the day. Both declined to elaborate on whether Young had participated on the court with his teammates or how he looked if he had done so.
Young has been the breakout star of these playoffs, averaging 29.8 points and 9.5 assists in his first trip to the postseason. He has led the fifth-seeded Hawks to upset victories over the fourth-seeded New York Knicks and top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.
Young’s presence will be a welcome sight for the Hawks, who got demolished in the paint by the Bucks in Game 5 and trail the series 3-2.
Now, with their season on the line Saturday night, they’ll get a chance to extend it to a Game 7 on Monday with their superstar guard on the court.