The Milwaukee Bucks got their first World Cup Finals ticket since 1974! With 118:107 in Game 6, the 3-Seed of the Eastern Conference defeated the Atlanta Hawks – even without their top player.
Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo withdrew again with knee issues, but his co-stars took over. Khris Middleton led Milwaukee in scoring (32 points, 10/22 FG, 7 assists, 7 spins) and made the initial decision almost alone in the third quarter with 23 points. Jrue Holiday scored 27 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Four other Bucks hit double figures, including Brooke Lopez with 13 points.
Trae Young is back on the Hawks, but base still has ankle problems (14 points, 4/17, 9 assists, 5 turns). Bogdan Bogdanovic (20) and Cam Reddish (21, 6/7 triples) were strong, while John Collins (13 and 11 rebounds) had doubles.
Milwaukee has now reached the Finals for the first time since 1974 and will face the Phoenix Suns there. The first match will be played on Wednesday night.
Upon his return, Young initially returned with Lou Williams, otherwise there were no changes to either side, so Portis once again appeared as Giannis’ replacement.
Milwaukee started the game better, which was mainly due to the area’s constant offensive. Holiday set the tone with 7 points in a 15:4 start, but thanks to Bogdanovic the Hawks came back quickly and after Young’s And-1 the difference was only two points. The next few minutes belonged to Lopez, who added 6 points to 8-0. Gallinari hit thirty, it was 28:24 for Milwaukee after twelve minutes.
Khris Middleton’s explosion explodes in the third quarter الربع
The second quarter started again problematic for the Hawks, who only bumped into one of the first nine litters. On the other hand, former Hawk Jeff Teague sank three times and gave the Bucks a 9-point lead. However, Milwaukee left many opportunities to launch, with seven turnovers this quarter alone. As a result, the interval was only 47:43.
In the third quarter, Middleton took over. With a personal 8-0 run, he managed to cut Dollars down to +10 and forced Nate McMillan out of time. It didn’t help – the substitute also scored the next 5, giving the Bucs their biggest lead (+16). Reddish tried to get into a duel, but now the other coins hit a few throws as well. Middleton, 23, stayed hot all over the neighborhood. Shortly before the end of the quarter, the leave from abroad was clocked in at +19, 91:72 before the last quarter.
The last word, however, has yet to be uttered. Atlanta found its rhythm again from the outside, after two more three-pointers, the homers went back to 10 points, even Capella reduced to -6 less than four minutes from the end. Holiday responded with a thrilling shot, with 1:30 left serving Lopez into an alley ahead by 10 more points. It was the dagger, a little later Macmillan took his starters off the field.
The most important stats
Atlanta Hawks (5) vs Milwaukee Bucks (3) 107: 118 (BOXSCORE), Serie A: 2-4
- In fact, Milwaukee initially looked like the clearly better team, and the problem was the same for much of the post-season: The Bucks didn’t hit their three-sets. Several attempts failed wide open, after a quarter was 1/9, at least 5/19 at the break. Then the knot blew in the third quarter, eventually being 17/45 (37.8 percent).
- Then there was a turn. The Bucks lost the ball ten times in the first half, five times each to Middleton and Holiday. The holiday had a big role in the fact that the Falcons had more problems losing the ball; In the end it was 16:14 in that regard, and Milwaukee scored more points after the opponent’s turn (25:19), as the transition game often worked very well, especially at the start.
- The Hawks initially relied heavily on individual actions, also because Milwaukee did not allow many drives due to their substitution and the defense rarely broke down. As a result, the man often had difficult rises and little flow in the game, in the first half the Falcons scored only 6 passes. After the break, the situation improved (22), but the Hawks did not have an effective attack throughout the game (41.8 percent of the field).
- Milwaukee was not as dominant under the basket as in Game 5, and the points duel in the paint was even (40:40). However, the Bucks used their length on 12 offensive rebounds, among other things, resulting in several second chances.
Hawks vs Bucks: Game Sounds
Nate McMillan (Hawks coach) on Trae Young: “The message was that we don’t want to regret anything then. We wanted to leave everything in court. And I saw that from Trae today.”
Trae Young (Hawks) at the basketball game: “This nonsense is hard as hell.”
Mike Budenholzer (Coach Bucks) vs Chris Middleton: “He’s a bucket player, he’s got a great overall package. He’s been underestimated as a playmaker. But it all comes down to being a great shooter. Whenever he gets the chance, he has the absolute green light. I’m glad I can train him.”
The star of the game: Jrue Holiday
Aside from losing the ball in the first half, Holiday delivered an almost flawless game. He attacked the basket regularly, distributed the ball well, and was particularly dominant defensively. Then there were the critical plays in a time of crisis, with which Milwaukee closed the sack.
Game Failure: Kevin Huerter
Young was clearly limited by his injury, but at least he tried everything. The biggest disappointment was Hurter, who could not contribute offensively in this match (5 points, 2/10 FG).
game scene
Middleton’s blast in the third quarter was astonishing, with the forward scoring 16 points in just the first four minutes. In addition to several threesomes, there was also a left-handed scoop shot with a bug – once it worked, it worked.