HAWKS CONTINUE TO FLY HIGH BEHIND YOUNG, TAKE DOWN BUCKS ON THE ROAD
in a hostile setting, Trae Young on Wednesday dropped a career playoff-high 48 points on Milwaukee as Atlanta continued to surprise by nipping the Bucks, 116-113, to take the series-opener of the Eastern Conference finals.
Young added 11 assists and seven rebounds, scoring 12 of his total in the fourth period that sustained a torrid Atlanta rally in front of 16,000 fans at the Bucks’ arena.
“Ever since I was in middle school, I loved playing on the road,” Young said as he helped the Hawks improve to 6-2 this postseason. “I loved playing against an opposing crowd. I think that really brings our group together.”
Young had the most points by any player making his conference finals debut since the NBA adopted the conference format 50 years ago.
The best-of-seven series continues on Friday in Milwaukee with the winner advancing to an NBA Finals matchup against either Phoenix or the Los Angeles Clippers, who play Game 3 of their series on Thursday with the Suns shooting for a commanding 3-0 lead at home.
Kawhi Leonard will continue to sit it out for LA because of a knee sprain, while Chris Paul is reportedly ready to return for the Suns, who scored an electrifying 104-103 Game 2 win after DeAndre Ayton completed an alley-oop dunk play with seven-tenths of a second left in LA.
John Collins scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Clint Capela had 12 points and 19 rebounds for the Hawks, who had lost their seven prior games in Milwaukee since 2016.
“People overlook this team, take us for granted, so for us to come out here and get a win is big time,” Collins said.
First home loss
Greek star big man Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists while Jrue Holiday had 33 points and 10 assists for the Bucks in a losing cause.
“We’ll get better,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’ll get smarter game after game.”
It was Milwaukee’s first home playoff loss this season.
“Young’s a great player,” Budenholzer said. “He had a great night. We feel like we can play better.”
Collins scored eight points, six on dunks, and Young added seven in a 21-8 Atlanta run that gave the Hawks a 79-73 lead late in the third quarter before the Bucks rallied.
Antetokounmpo scored six points to lead a 13-2 Bucks’ run for a 105-98 lead, but Collins hit a jumper and Young, who hit 17of-34 shots from the floor, added a three-point play to lift the Hawks back within two points.
The game was poised on a knife’s edge until Collins hit a three-pointer and Capela scored on a rebound put-back that lifted the Hawks ahead, 112-111, with 29.8 seconds remaining.
The Hawks were based in Milwaukee for four seasons in the 1950s and won their only NBA title in 1958 while based in St. Louis. They last reached the NBA Finals in 1961 when based in St. Louis.
The Bucks lost to Toronto in the 2019 conference finals and to Miami in last year’s conference semifinals, with Antetokounmpo winning the NBA Most Valuable Player award both seasons.
The Bucks have not reached the NBA Finals since 1974, when they lost to Boston in seven games. The Bucks won their only NBA title in 1971 when they swept Baltimore in the finals.
The Clippers officially ruled out Leonard, described variously as a right knee sprain and a sprained ACL, and ESPN reported that the team isn’t sure Leonard will play at all in the series.