Bucks bury Hawks, level East finals at 1-1
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks goes up for a shot against Clint Capela #15 of the Atlanta Hawks during the second half in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals at Fiserv Forum on June 25, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Stacy Revere / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 25 points and Jrue Holiday added 22 as the host Milwaukee Bucks coasted to a 125-91 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday to even the Eastern Conference finals at one win apiece.
Antetokounmpo and Holiday combined to make 20 of 32 shots from the floor before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Article continues after this advertisementGiannis & Jrue lift the @Bucks in Game 2! #ThatsGame #NBAPlayoffs@Giannis_An34: 25 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST@Jrue_Holiday11: 22 PTS, 7 AST
Game 3 – Sunday, 8:30pm/et, TNT pic.twitter.com/DT8ipwUyZ6
— NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2021
The third-seeded Bucks and fifth-seeded Hawks will play Game 3 in Atlanta on Sunday.
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.
Article continues after this advertisementMilwaukee shot 52.1 percent from the floor and took advantage of 20 turnovers by the 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.
Atlanta’s Trae Young finished with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor, but he also was responsible for nine turnovers. Danilo Gallinari scored 12 points off the bench, and John Collins and Cam Reddish collected 11 points apiece.
Young made his lone 3-pointer on seven first-half attempts 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.
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.
