The Milwaukee Bucks may have lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Atlanta Hawks, but with back-to-back victories, they have officially retaken home-court benefit in the series. The Bucks won Game 3 113-102 in order to take a 2-1 series lead over the Hawks.

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The Bucks will attempt to take a commanding 3-1 lead on Tuesday, when the Hawks host them yet again in Game 4. For now, here are the biggest takeaways from Game 4. A memorable night for MiddletonKhris Middleton had actually shot 33.9 percent from the flooring in his last three games. His 6-of-23 shooting night in Game 1 went a long way in costing the Bucks a 3-0 lead in this series, which has been the story of his postseason. He struggles for a couple of nights prior to going nuclear when Milwaukee requires it most. He scored 30 overall points in their first 2 losses to Brooklyn … and then scored 35 in a crucial Game 3 win. He topped that with 38 in Milwaukees Game 6 win over the Nets, however Sunday night was his best outing of the postseason yet. The Bucks scored 30 points in the fourth quarter, but Middleton had 20 of them. He made more 3-pointers (six) than the rest of his colleagues combined (five). He connected for the group lead with 11 rebounds and trailed just Jrue Holiday with 7 helps. Speaking of Holiday, Milwaukees 3rd star shot 2 of 11 from the field. In Game 2, he scored 22 as Middleton had a hard time. That has been one of the stranger patterns of this postseason. The Bucks cant get their two secondary stars going at when, however thus far, they havent required them to. Giannis Antetokounmpo has actually been so consistently outstanding that as long as the Bucks have one of their other two leaders going, they can create enough offense to win.What does Trae Youngs injury mean?Trae Young stepped on the foot of an official in the 3rd quarter and instantly left the game and went to the locker room. That was the moment that might have swung the game and the series to the Hawks. When he left the video game, Young had 32 points. He had three points on 1-of-4 shooting in the fourth on that bottom ankle, and the Bucks won the quarter by 13 points. Youngs strategy is to play in Game 4, however that does not indicate hell be himself. He states he is aching and the plan is to get as much treatment as he can prior to the video game. However DeAndre Hunter is out for the year. He likely would get those minutes over Solomon Hill if Cam Reddish were healthy adequate to play genuine minutes. Bogdan Bogdanovic still hasnt reached double-digit points in a game since injuring his knee versus the 76ers. This group is currently extremely thin due to injuries. If Young is hobbled too? This series is over. Trusted reservesMiddleton may have led the Bucks in scoring, but guess who had the video games best plus-minus? It was Pat Connaughton at plus-25. Bobby Portis came in 2nd at plus-17, and he was Milwaukees third-leading scorer with 15 points. With Brook Lopez restricted to 25 minutes, thanks to Trae Youngs capability to attack him in area, Connaughton really played the fifth-most minutes on the Bucks tonight with 32. Their energy was transmittable. You do not see 2-on-1 shift obstructs like this every day. By the end of the Brooklyn series, the Bucks had actually basically cut out their bench totally. It offered only 29 total minutes to reserves in Game 7 versus the Nets, and that number would have been lower if P.J. Tucker hadnt fouled out. Connaughton was the only reserve of note who played in that game. Portis didnt see a minute of playing time in the last three games of that series. However between these 2 and Bryn Forbes, Milwaukee appears to have discovered its depth at a crucial point. Ultimately, things may get tight enough for the Bucks to trim their rotation once again, however getting these big bench minutes serves a number of important purposes until that point comes. Allowing stars to play fewer minutes certainly implies a lot, however the basic act of putting in a fresher gamer and enabling them to go full-scale without the need to conserve any energy made a visible distinction in Game 3. Connaughton and Portis made a number of crucial hustle plays each, and those plays made all of the distinction in a game as close as this one was. Okongwu shinesIn the period of one minute and 12 seconds, Onyeka Okongu managed to force jump-ball on Giannis Antetokounmpo moving in complete speed … Break up a lob to Antetokounmpo … And finish this little floater with Antetokounmpo on him (albeit leaving him alone). Its not in that same stretch, but he likewise managed to block Giannis. The number of players can state that? The frustrating majority of novices cant play in the playoffs. Okongwu struggled for minutes during the routine season, balancing only 12 per video game in a packed front court. Hes revealed flashes of defensive luster in brief stints this postseason, and with Clint Capela and John Collins in place, the Hawks do not need to ask anything more of him for the moment. Still, with Collins set for limited complimentary company this offseason, the Hawks must be alleviated to see Okongwu coming on like this in the playoffs. They are totally various gamers, and as alluring as a Capela-Okongwu full-time pairing would be defensively, it would cramp the flooring too much to be feasible on offense. If the Hawks were to lose Collins this offseason, seeing Okongwu reveal this much potential on the biggest stage must at least make them feel great about their talent in the front court even if the fit does not rather work. The Hawks seemed to choose a winner at No. 6 overall..

The Milwaukee Bucks might have lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Atlanta Hawks, but with back-to-back success, they have actually formally retaken home-court advantage in the series. The Bucks won Game 3 113-102 in order to take a 2-1 series lead over the Hawks. The Bucks will try to take a commanding 3-1 lead on Tuesday, when the Hawks host them yet once again in Game 4. His 6-of-23 shooting night in Game 1 went a long method in costing the Bucks a 3-0 lead in this series, and that has actually been the story of his postseason. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been so regularly exceptional that as long as the Bucks have one of their other 2 leaders going, they can generate sufficient offense to win.What does Trae Youngs injury mean?Trae Young stepped on the foot of an authorities in the third quarter and right away left the video game and went to the locker space.

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