Middleton Dominates 4th Quarter, Bucks Take Game 3! 6.27.21
It’s another day of NBA Playoffs action and we have Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Bucks and Hawks.
(3) Milwaukee Bucks vs (5) Atlanta Hawks
Milwaukee Bucks (2-1)
The Bucks dominated Game 2 and this game was close. They played like they had all season, great play from Giannis and terrible help/shooting from everybody else. The Hawks were hitting shots and the crowd was into the game. The game was close for the first 3 quarters but the Bucks turned things up. Trae Young stepped on a referee’s foot and tweaked his ankle, never the same after returning. Then Khris Middleton happened. A mediocre game turned into a great one as he single handily outscored the Hawks in the 4th to take Game 3.
The first half was up and down for the Bucks. They came out flat and the Hawks shooting put them down 15-2 in just 4 minutes. But the Bucks went on a 19-12 run over the final 6:38 of the first quarter to close the gap to 5. They were dominating the paint but Trae Young had 14 points already.
The 2nd quarter was better. Trae Young had just 3 points and the Bucks kept dominating down low. A late run tied the game at the half. The Bucks had a 34-18 points in the paint advantage and they hit 9 more free throws. Even though they were shooting 3/14 from 3-PT land, the Bucks were staying in this game. Giannis and Middleton both were in double-figures and they did a little bit of everything. If the defense was better in the 2nd half, the Bucks could win.
The 3rd quarter was high scoring for both sides. John Collins picked up his 4th foul early on in the 3rd but the Bucks didn’t take advantage and the Bucks trailed by 7 early on in the 3rd. The Bucks got another break with the injury to Trae Young late in the 3rd and the 4th was pure dominance, led by James Khris Middleton.
Middleton had 20 of his 38 points in the 4th. He was 8/13 from the field, 4/6 from 3 as he was on fire. He outscored the Hawks 20-17 in the 4th on his own and he also made more field goals than the Hawks in the 4th all on his own. He was great and the Bucks defense was suffocating. The Hawks didn’t score for over 2 minutes twice as the Bucks ran away with things in the end to get the pivotal Game 3 win, taking back homecourt.
38 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists for Middleton, 20 points in the 4th. This is what they need him to do in this series and if they want to win it all. They need All-Star, aggressive Khris Middleton.
Giannis had 33 points and 11 rebounds. He dominated the paint and missed a lot of free throws. Typical Giannis game at this point.
Brook Lopez didn’t play much, only 25 minutes, which is good. Lots of Giannis at center and some Bobby Portis as well. Portis had 15 off the bench in this game, he’s been really good offensively in this series so far. Jrue Holiday didn’t do much and the Bucks shot 38% from 3 and they still won. The Bucks outscored the Hawks 56-34 in the paint and they had a 11-7 fastbreak points advantage.
The Bucks defense was great in that 4th and Giannis and Middleton were really good. They didn’t play Lopez a bunch, which is good. Portis has been really good for them and if they can shoot more consistently, I don’t see why they can’t win this series easily. Especially with Trae Young’s health in the air, this seems like the Bucks series to lose.
Atlanta Hawks (1-2)
Usually when you saw the refs are bad, you mean how they’re calling the game. Not where their feet are in correlation with players. Trae Young stepped on an officials foot late in the 3rd and he wasn’t the same. The Hawks lost that energy and completely collapsed in the 4th offensively. It also didn’t help that Khris Middleton became Michael Jordan in the 4th, scoring 20 of his game-high 38 points in the 4th. I just don’t see the Hawks winning this series.
They’re relying so much on streaky guys like Gallinari, Williams, and Bogdanovic to score. Their paint defense has been nonexistent and Giannis has been very good in this series, as expected. Trae Young was very good in this game but that ankle injury is likely going to bother him like it bothered Donovan Mitchell in his 2nd round series against the Clippers.
The Hawks doesn’t have a lot of room to change things. Cam Reddish is back but he hasn’t played consistently in months. No De’Andre Hunter hurts so much more in this series than it did against the 76ers. Collins and Capela can’t stop Giannis and if Middleton gets going, game over. The Hawks just have to hope the Bucks play bad defense with Brook Lopez on those screens and they have to make a lot of 3’s and hope that the Bucks can’t make 3’s.
That’s not a recipe for success, but that’s where they’re at. They’re overmatched and that Young injury might spell the eventual doom for this Hawks team.
What Are Your Thoughts From Game 3? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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