Milwaukee Bucks vs Atlanta Hawks Date and Time: Friday, July 2,2021 8:30am Venue: Fiserv Forum Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks Bookmaker: 1xbet
The 3-seed Milwaukee Bucks (2-1) play the 5-seed Atlanta Hawks (1-2) Tuesday at State Farm Arena in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 am. ET.
Trae Young scored 35 points for Atlanta but was slowed in the final period. He stepped on an official’s foot late in the third and injured his right ankle. He will have an MRI on the ankle on Monday.
Middleton scored 10 points in the decisive run in the fourth that gave Milwaukee the lead. He had 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Antetokounmpo, who often has the spotlight for Milwaukee, had 33 points. The Bucks trailed most of the game before surging in the fourth quarter. Atlanta led 95-88 before Middleton made his first of three 3-pointers during the 15-3 run for a 103-98 lead.
After never leading in a 125-91 Game 2 loss, the Hawks were eager for a better start in their first home game of the series. Turnovers by Middleton and Antetokounmpo led to dunks by Clint Capela, and Kevin Huerter added a 3-pointer for a 7-0 lead.
The Hawks stretched the advantage to 13 points. Antetokounmpo was held to five first-quarter points but regained his scoring form in the second period. He had 11 points in the period as the Bucks finally pulled even at 56-all on a 3-pointer by Pat Connaughton with 12 seconds remaining in the half.
The Bucks took their first lead at 82-80 on a basket by Bobby Portis Jr. with 1:47 remaining in the third. A 3-pointer by Danilo Gallinari, who had 18 points, gave Atlanta an 85-83 lead at the end of the period.
Bucks: Antetokounmpo was on the injury report as probable with left calf tightness but did not appear to be affected by the injury. He had 11 rebounds and played 41 minutes.
Hawks: Young remained seated on the court for a few seconds after his ankle injury before heading to the locker room. He returned with 8:44 remaining in the game. It was his first action since Feb. 21. McMillan said he was not yet ready to move Reddish into a more prominent role.
Hawks fans followed the recent trend of counting Antetokounmpo’s time at the free throw line. The fans usually counted past 10 before he launched an attempt, but no 10-second violation was called.
Fans cheered when he missed each of his first two free throws in the first quarter. He threw an airball from the line in the second period, again earning cheers from the sellout crowd.
Game by game, the Hawks are following the same script of their Eastern Conference semifinal series win over Philadelphia. Just as in that series, the Hawks split two games on the road before losing their first home game. They won the series in seven games.
