MANILA – Atlanta Hawks posted a wire-to-wire victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, 116-13, in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Down 105-98 with over four minutes left, the Hawks received conversion from John Collins and Trae Young to come to within 107-109, but the Bucks stretched the gap to 111-107 on an inside hit by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
A triple shot by Collins and an inside basket by Clint Capela earned Atlanta a 112-111 advantage with 29 seconds remaining. It widened further to 114-111 on two free throws by Young with 17.3 seconds left.
The Bucks scraped the deficit to 113-114 on two freebies by Antetokounmpo as Young padded the Hawks’ lead to 116-113 with two free throws with four seconds remaining.
Young scored 48 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, while Collins added a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Hawks posted a 1-0 edge in the best-of-seven series.
Kevin Huerter made his presence felt by dropping 13 points, while Capela tallied a double-double of 19 rebounds and 12 points for the Hawks, which aim for an NBA Finals stint since 1961.
The Bucks ruled the match early with a 34-26 lead, but the Hawks rallied behind Young, Collins, and Huerter to trim the deficit to 54-59 at the half.
Atlanta continued its onslaught in the third quarter as they surged to an 86-78 lead via consecutive hits from Young and Collins. However, Milwaukee managed to cut it to 85-88, heading to the fourth quarter.
The Hawks were nailed on top at 92-87, following Solomon Hill’s basket. The Bucks rallied back and forced several deadlocks to record a 105-98 lead via consecutive points from Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday.
Antetokounmpo top-scored with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists, while Holiday chipped in 33 markers for the Bucks. Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis fired 15 and 11 points, respectively.
BOX SCORE:
ATLANTA 116 – Young 48, Collins 23, Huerter 13, Capela 12, Gallinari 9, Bogdanovic 4, Hill 4, Williams 3, Okongwu 0.
MILWAUKEE 113 – G. Antetokounmpo 34, Holiday 33, Middleton 15, Portis 11, Lopez 7, Forbes 5, Tucker 4, Connaughton 4, Teague 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
25-28, 54-59, 88-85, 116-113./PN
