MANILA – Khris Middleton carried Milwaukee Bucks to a come-from-behind 113-102 victory over Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
With the victory, the Bucks took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Middleton ended the match with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added a double-double of 33 points and11 rebounds for Milwaukee.
Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez tallied 15 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Bucks, while Jrue Holiday got 12 assists and six points.
Milwaukee struggled early in the game as they were down by 15 points in the first quarter, but Antetokounmpo and Portis connected inside hits to trim the deficit to 27-32.
The Hawks rallied to widen the gap to 56-46 in the second quarter on back-to-back triples by Trae Young and Kevin Huerter. However, the Bucks scored 10 straight points, including five from Middleton, for a 56-all count.
Atlanta surged to 65-58 behind Young, but Milwaukee clawed to within 83-85 late in the third period. The Hawks led for the last time at 95-88 on baskets by Onyeka Okongwu.
Trailing 88-95 with over nine minutes remaining, Middleton drilled three outside conversions while Pat Connaughton connected an inside hit to even the score at 98-all.
Middleton unleashed another triple while Antetokounmpo made a layup to let the Bucks seize a 103-98 advantage. However, the Hawks scraped the deficit to 100-103 on an inside basket by John Collins.
Back-to-back hits from Middleton, followed by a layup and a free throw by Antetokounmpo, increased the Bucks’ advantage to 110-100 before Middleton iced the victory with an inside hit.
Young top-scored with his 35 points, including six outside hits, while Danilo Gallinari, Collins, and Huerter chipped in 18, 13, and 11 points, respectively, for the Hawks.
BOX SCORE:
MILWAUKEE 113 – Middleton 38, G. Antetokounmpo 33, Portis 15, Lopez 10, Holiday 6, Connaughton 5, Tucker 3, Forbes 3, Teague 0, T. Antetokounmpo 0.
ATLANTA 102 – Young 35, Gallinari 18, Collins 13, Huerter 11, Capela 8, Bogdanovic 8, Williams 5, Okongwu 4, Hill 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
27-32, 56-56, 83-85, 113-102./PN
