Bucks-Hawks Score, Takeaways: Khris Middleton helped Milwaukee 2-1; All eyes were fixed on Trae Young’s ankles.

The Milwaukee Bucks may have lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Atlanta Hawks, but with successive victories. They had an official home-court advantage in the series. The Bucks won 3 113-102 games to lead the series 2-1 over the Hawks. They are now just two wins away from visiting the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974.

The Hawks led most of the competition but the Bucks rallied a stunning 20-point fourth quarter from Khris Middleton to claim the victory. He ended up with a total of 38 points, a career-high playoff. And that was enough for the Bucks despite Trae Young’s 35 points in a stellar outing.

The Bucks will try to lead 3-1

on Tuesday as the Hawks host again in Game 4. For now, this is the biggest takeaway from Game 4.

An unforgettable night for Middleton

Chris Middleton has shot 33.9% off the floor in his last three games, returning 6 of 23 shots in Game 1 going a long way in giving the Bucks a 3-0 lead this series, and that’s the story. his season He struggled for a few nights before going nuclear when Milwaukee needed it most. He scored a total of 30 points in their first two losses at Brooklyn … and then scored 35 in their crucial 3 games. He scored 38 points in Milwaukee’s sixth game win. Nets, but Sunday night was his best outing of the season.

The Bucks scored 30 points in the fourth quarter. But Middleton had 20 points. He made 3 pointers (six) more than the rest of his teammates combined (five). He drew with the lead with 11 rebounds and was only behind Jrue Holiday by seven. assistant

When it comes to holiday Milwaukee’s third star shot 2 of 11 from the field. In Game 2, he scored 22 as Middleton struggled. That’s one of the weird trends this season. The Bucks can’t get their two minor stars along the way. But so far they don’t need Giannis Antetokounmpo. That has always been great, as long as the Bucks have one of their remaining two leaders. They can make enough offensive games to win.

What does Trae Young’s injury mean?

Trae Young stepped on the staff in the third quarter and immediately left the game and went to the locker room. That was the moment that might crank the game and the series at the Hawks. Young had 32 points when he left the game. He had three points from four of his fourth shot at that bum ankle, and the Bucks won the quarter with 13 points.

Young’s plan was to play in game four, but that didn’t mean he could be himself. He said he was injured and plans to get as many treatments as possible before the game, but De’Andre Hunter will leave this year if Cam Reddish is strong enough to play in the real minutes. He should have had those minutes over Solomon Hill. Bogdan Bogdanovic hasn’t reached the double-digit point in the game since a knee injury against the 76ers. The team is very thin due to injury. If the young man is still limping? This series is over.

reliable reserve

Middleton may lead the Bucks in scoring But guess who has the best plus-minus points in the game? It was Pat Connaughton who plus-25 Bobby Portis came in second with 17 and he was Milwaukee’s third with 15 points, with Brook Lopez’s ability capped at 25 minutes thanks to Trae Young’s talent. To hit him in space, Connaughton played in the most 5th minute in the Bucks tonight, with 32 of their power infecting them. You don’t see these 2-to-1 transitions every day.

By the end of the series, the Brooklyn Bucks had all bench cuts. It gave a total of 29 minutes to spare in Game 7 against the Nets, and that number would drop if PJ Tucker hadn’t fouled Connaughton as the only note played in that game. Portis didn’t see a minute of play in the last three games of that series.

But between these two and Bryne Forbes, Milwaukee appears to be rediscovering depth at a critical juncture. Eventually, things may be tight enough for the Bucks to cut their rotation again. But getting these big minutes serves a number of valuable purposes until that point. Obviously, allowing stars to play less means a lot. but simple actions To add fresh players and let them play at their fullest without needing any energy savings made the difference in Game 3, Connaughton and Portis did a lot. Make a difference in the game close to this game.

Ogong Wu shines

Within minutes and 12 seconds, Onyeka Okongu tried to force Giannis Antetokounmpo to jump. moving at full speed…

Divide the lob to Antetokounmpo…

And finish this little floater too. Antetokounmpo where he (although leave him alone)

It’s not in the same range. But he was able to block Giannis. How many players have said that?

Most rookies were unable to play in the playoffs. Okongwu struggled for several minutes during the regular season. On average, just 12 games per game on the ammo-filled front field. But he has shown defensive acumen in the short run of this season and when Clint Capella and John Collins enters The hawk didn’t need to ask any more questions about him now.

Still, with Collins set to play for free agency during this offseason The Hawks must have been relieved to see Okongwu coming like this in the playoffs. They were completely different players. And tantalizingly, it’s a full-time matchup of Capela-Okongwu will be protection But it will make the ground too tight to attack. But if the Hawks have to lose to Collins this season Seeing Oh Kong Wu’s immense potential on the biggest stage It should at least make them feel good about their abilities in the front. Even if fitness doesn’t work. The Hawks seem to have picked the winner in 6th place overall.