MANILA – The Milwaukee Bucks moved closer to the NBA Finals after earning a 123-112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Brook Lopez anchored the Bucks offense with his 33 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, while Khris Middleton tallied a near triple-double performance of 26 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists.
Jrue Holiday recorded a double-double of 25 points and 13 assists, while Bobby Portis Jr. chipped in 22 points, eight rebounds, and three steals as the Bucks took a 3-2 lead in the series.
The Bucks moved one win away from facing the Phoenix Suns, despite playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hyper-extended his left knee in Game 4.
Milwaukee opened the evening with a 22-7 advantage behind Lopez, Portis, and Holiday. It swelled to 32-12 late in the quarter on Lopez’s consecutive hits.
In the second period, the Bucks were clinging to 48-30 via Middleton’s basket, but the Hawks rallied to trim the deficit to 56-65.
Atlanta tried to take the lead away as they score 59-65 in the third quarter. However, Milwaukee surged to 91-78 via baskets from Lopez and Portis and outside hits from Holiday.
The Bucks stretched the gap at 114-94 midway in the fourth quarter as the Hawks made its last push by scraping the deficit to 108-118 with over a minute left. Free throws from Middleton and Lopez sealed the win for the Bucks.
Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 28 points, Danilo Gallinari and John Collins added 19 markers apiece, while Lou Williams got 17 points for the Hawks, which played anew without Trae Young due to injury.
BOX SCORE:
MILWAUKEE 123 – Lopez 33, Middleton 26, Holiday 25, Portis 22, Connaughton 9, Tucker 5, Forbes 3, Teague 0, Bryant 0, T. Antetokoumpo 0.
ATLANTA 112 – Bogdanovic 28, Collins 19, Gallinari 19, Williams 17, Huerter 8, Reddish 7, Capela 6, Okongwu 6, Mays 2, Dunn 0, Hill 0, Knight 0, Fernando 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
36-22; 65-56; 91-78; 123-112./PN
