Bucks bury Hawks, level East finals at 1-1
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[June 26, 2021]
The host Milwaukee Bucks upped
their intensity from the jump, leading wire-to-wire on Friday en
route to knotting the Eastern Conference finals against the Atlanta
Hawks at one win apiece.
Fresh off a convincing 125-91 victory, the Bucks look to maintain
that spirited play when the best-of-seven series shifts to Atlanta
for Game 3 on Sunday.
"We came in focused on each possession at a time in Game 2, and we
were able to do it together as a team," said Milwaukee's Giannis
Antetokounmpo, who collected 25 points and nine rebounds in three
quarters before sitting out the fourth.
Jrue Holiday added 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the floor for
the third-seeded Bucks.
Brook Lopez scored 16 points and Khris Middleton added 15 points and
eight assists for Milwaukee, which effectively put the game on ice
with a 20-0 run over a 4:18 span during the second quarter. The
Bucks outscored Atlanta by a 43-17 margin in the second to claim a
77-45 lead at halftime.
Milwaukee shot 52.1 percent from the floor and took advantage of 19
turnovers by the fifth-seeded Hawks. The Bucks also made 15 of 41
attempts from 3-point range after sinking just 8 of 36 from beyond
the arc Wednesday during a 116-113 loss in the series opener.
"We needed everybody to be more active," Milwaukee coach Mike
Budenholzer said. "The guys, they were great."
Atlanta's Trae Young finished with a team-high 15 points on 6-for-16
shooting from the floor, but he also was responsible for nine
turnovers.
"That's all on me. I have to be better at taking care of the ball
and just doing a better job of at least giving us a shot and not
turning it over way too much," Young said. "I have to do better and
will be better next game."
Danilo Gallinari scored 12 points off the bench, and John Collins
and Cam Reddish collected 11 points apiece as the Hawks fell to 0-3
in Game 2s this postseason.
Atlanta interim coach Nate McMillan tried to put a
positive spin on his team's standing after the first two games of this
series.
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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis
Antetokounmpo (34) move for the basket against Atlanta Hawks forward
Danilo Gallinari (8) during the second quarter during game two of
the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Fiserv
Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
"Anytime you can go .500 on the road,
that's a good thing -- especially in the playoffs," McMillan said.
"We had the opportunity to get two, we got one, so we're happy with
that.
"But there's another level we have to get to in order to win games
and advance. That intensity they came out with wasn't a surprise to
us. They just totally dominated the entire game."
Young made a jumper to trim Milwaukee's lead to 51-40 with 6:25
remaining in the second quarter before the Bucks turned the game
into a laugher. Holiday scored nine points and Lopez added seven as
Milwaukee erupted for 20 straight points to claim a 71-40 lead with
2:07 to play.
Milwaukee's Pat Connaughton added his third 3-pointer in as many
attempts to cap the scoring in the third quarter. Jordan Nwora's
layup early in the fourth pushed the Bucks' lead to a game-high 41
points at 105-64.
"Just build off tonight," Connaughton said, when asked how to keep
the momentum going.
"There are still things that we can still do a little bit better. We
learned from our mistakes from Game 1, we carried over our gameplan
to Game 2, and now we need to do the same thing to Game 3."
Antetokounmpo highlighted his nine-point performance in the first
quarter with a scintillating spin move around Solomon Hill before
converting a finger-roll layup. Milwaukee made 7 of 12 shots from
3-point range to claim a 34-28 lead after the first quarter.
--Field Level Media
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