Atlanta Hawks 112-123 Milwaukee Bucks: 5 hits and flops as Jrue Holiday and co. edge closer to the Finals | 2021 NBA Playoffs
The Milwaukee Bucks blasted the Atlanta Hawks 123-112 in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series at Fiserv Forum on Thursday.
The Bucks are now one win away from the NBA Finals as they lead the Hawks 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals heading into Saturday’s Game 6 at Atlanta.
Despite missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks quickly put their stamp on this game from the first quarter onwards. When the final buzzer sounded, four Bucks players scored 20 or more points, led by veteran center Brook Lopez, who had 33.
The Bucks used their size advantage to good use and edged the Atlanta Hawks 66 to 36 in the paint as they dominated their opponent in the lane. The Hawks were led by Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had 28 points in what was his best performance of the series.
Here are our five hits and flops from the Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks game:
Hit: Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks)
Brook Lopez turned the clock back to his younger, more athletic days as he slammed and dunked all the way to a game-high 33 points on a sizzling 14-of-18 shooting.
The big man was so active that his teammates, particularly Jrue Holiday, found him often drifting to the lane for multiple alley-oop dunks against the smallish Atlanta Hawks players. The Milwaukee Bucks are within reach of the NBA Finals because of Lopez’s work inside the paint, where he scored 26 of his points and rarely took 3-pointers.
The Milwaukee Bucks center turned up the dial on the defensive end, too. Lopez owned the paint with four blocks and even found the energy to steal the ball twice.
Flop: Kevin Huerter (Atlanta Hawks)
The Atlanta Hawks needed more on the road from Kevin Huerter, but his shots were mostly flat during this crucial game. Huerter made a measly 3-of-12 field goals and only 2-of-7 from 3-point range.
He missed wide-open shots and only scored three points in the first half. The lack of perimeter scoring put the Atlanta Hawks in an early hole that they never truly recovered from.
It was a forgettable performance from Huerter, who is yet to make an impact in this series after several breakout performances during the previous rounds.