[ad_1]
Milwaukee Bucks reach their first NBA finals since 1974 On Saturday night, he defeated the Atlanta Hawks 118-107 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, extending the series to two-four. They will face the Phoenix Suns in the NBA finals starting Tuesday.
They lacked the services of their top player, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Injured his left knee in the 4th matchappears to have dealt a significant blow to the Bucks’ chances to win the series.
Instead, the Bucks enlisted without him, relying on a supporting roster led by forward Khris Middleton, who scored 23 of 32 in the third quarter, and guard Jrue Holiday, who added his own 27 points. Missing games 4 and 5 due to a bone bruise in his right foot, Hawks top player Trae Young battled for the defeat after Saturday’s gametime decision. Young took just 4 shots for 17 points from the court and missed all six of his three-pointers. He finished with 14 points.
The crowd at the State Farm Arena, for most of the game, rushed out the door in a 15-4 streak, leading the entire game. But Atlanta fans were brought back to life in the fourth quarter when the Hawks ran furiously to cut the 22-point lead to 6 with 3:40 in the second half.
It was a serial roller coaster and mostly uncompetitive. The Hawks won 116-113 in a surprising Game 1 away win. Young scored 48 points. Bucks, as they do vs Kevin Durant and the Nets struggled to defend Atlanta on the pick-and-roll in the second round. This allowed Young to easily get into the paint and create offense for the Hawks.
In Game 2, Milwaukee defeated Atlanta 125-91 and took the lead with Antetokounmpo’s 25 points in 29 minutes. In the next competition, the Bucks took control of the series with a 113-102 win, this time leading Middleton with 38 points and 11 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo had hurt his knee in the second half of Game 4, and the Hawks, taking advantage of the baffled Bucks, gave a blast of their own, even to their best-of-seven series in two games. The win came without Young, raising hopes that Atlanta’s fledgling campaign could carry the Hawks into the franchise. First final since 1961.
A two-time Most Valuable Player Award winner and one of the NBA’s biggest stars, Antetokounmpo was in the middle of a career-best playoff streak after a series of disappointing games. He averages 28.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in the playoffs. While he struggled to shoot off the field and from the free throw line, he mostly kept his game where he was most successful: in the rim for dunks, as he did in the regular season. Postseason, 63.3 percent of Antetokounmpo’s shots were within 10 feet of the rim. In the regular season, this figure is 62.4 percent.
The Bucks reunited without him in Game 5 and dominated the Hawks from start to finish to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Brook Lopez has a career-high 33 points in a 123-112 win.
The stakes were high for Milwaukee this post-season. Despite Antetokounmpo’s regular season brilliance over the past five years, the Bucks have not made it to the finals. Antetokounmpo’s poor shooting was a problem because the defenders filled the paint to encourage him to shoot from outside or drive into traffic.
Mike Budenholzer, who has coached Milwaukee for the past three seasons, has been criticized for the contrast between the Bucks’ regular season performances and playoff failures, fueling speculation that he’s coaching for the job this year.
But critics were silenced, at least temporarily, on Saturday night. The Bucks, four wins away from a championship, will head to Phoenix for Game 1 of the Finals. Milwaukee will once again have to contend with Devin Booker, an elite scorer and pick-and-roll specialist, quarterback. Chris Paul. And the Bucks may lack Antetokounmpo, whose suitability for the series is uncertain.
[ad_2]
Source link