Bucks trounce Hawks
Huge second quarter helps Milwaukee tie series at one apiece
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points, Jrue Holiday added 22 and the Milwaukee Bucks blew out the Atlanta Hawks 125-91 on Friday night to even the Eastern Conference finals at a game apiece.
The Bucks never trailed, scored 20 straight points late in the second quarter and led by at least 30 throughout the second half. Both teams rested their starters for the entire fourth quarter.
Atlanta’s Trae Young struggled for much of the night after finishing with 48 points and 11 assists in the Hawks’ 116-113 Game 1 victory. Young scored 15 points but matched a career worst with nine turnovers before leaving the game for good with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter.
This marks the third straight series in which the Hawks lost Game 2 after winning Game 1 on the road. Those Game 2 losses have been decided by a total of 59 points.
The series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Sunday.
Brook Lopez scored 16 points for the Bucks, while Khris Middleton had 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Antetokounmpo
had nine rebounds and six assists.
Danilo Gallinari had 12 points and John Collins added 11 for the Hawks.
Milwaukee was intent on making life difficult for Young two nights after the Bucks blew a seven-point lead in the final four minutes of Game 1. Young’s Game 1 performance had made him the first player ever with at least 45 points and 10 assists in a conference finals game.
Young committed eight turnovers in the first half alone. He shot 6 of 16 overall and 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
Milwaukee pulled ahead in the opening minutes as An
tetokounmpo continually got to the rim for easy baskets. The Bucks already owned a double-digit lead before going on a 20-0 run late in the second quarter to break open the game.
Holiday scored nine points in the spurt and capped the run with a 3-pointer and layup. Lopez added seven points during that stretch.
The Bucks led 77-45 after a first half in which they shot 64.6% and capitalized on 13 Hawks turnovers, including eight from Young.
Note: Jason Kidd is coming back to Dallas again, this time to replace the coach he won a championship with as the point guard of the Mavericks 10 years ago. A person with direct knowledge of the agreement said Kidd and the Mavericks agreed on a contract Friday, eight days after Rick Carlisle resigned abruptly in the wake of general manager Donnie Nelson’s departure. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced. Carlisle, who took the Indiana job Thursday, gave ESPN an unsolicited endorsement of Kidd for his old job because of the impact Carlisle thought Kidd could have on Luka Doncic, the sensational young point guard who carries the hopes of the Mavericks. The Mavericks have also found Nelson’s replacement in Nike executive Nico Harrison, who will carry the titles of GM and president of basketball operations, the person told AP. Harrison was on board with the Kidd hiring, the person said. It’s already the third head coaching stop for the 48-year-old Kidd, who took Brooklyn to the second round in his debut in 2013-14 before bolting for Milwaukee.