No Trae Young, no problem. While his absence for a right ankle injury – contracted by stepping on the foot of a referee – raised fears of collapse for Atlanta, one of the surprise guests of these play-offs (5th in the regular season at the ‘East), the Hawks on the contrary bounced back with authority and energy.
On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the men of Nate McMillan, who perfectly remobilized and guided his troops, outclassed Milwaukee (110-88) and equalized with two victories everywhere in the Eastern Conference final. A success that took shape from the first minutes (15-5, 6th) around in particular the old driver Lou Williams.
Lou Williams leads by example
At thirty-four, the triple best sixth man of the year was established for the first time in his career in the play-offs, and responded perfectly to the proposed challenge, securing 21 points (best scorer for the Hawks) to 7 on 9 shooting, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. What compensate for the absence of the little genius Trae Young, who was shooting at 32.7 points and 6 assists on average in the conference final.
Everyone did a little more on the Hawks side, and the Georgian franchise delivered a remarkable game collectively (26 assists, 6 players at 10 points and more including Bogdan Bogdanovic, 20), resisting the return of the Bucks in the first quarter (19 -19, 12th) before flying away in the second, won 26 to 16.
The Antetokounmpo fright
The match unfortunately definitely turned on a game fact that could upset the rest of the series. His Milwaukee team still lagging behind (52-62, 28th) after returning from the locker room, on a rebound fight, the double MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists) fell badly. His left leg, tangled in those of Clint Capela (15 points, 7 rebounds for the Swiss), got stuck at the point of fall, causing hyperextension of his knee.
If he returned to the bench later, after a long stint in the locker room, Antetokounmpo did not return to the floor. A question mark now surrounds the rest of his play-offs as those of his team. Stunned, his teammates (among whom only Jrue Holiday approached the 20 point mark with 19 units and 9 assists) cracked immediately after his exit, conceding a 15 to 2 (54-77) which folded the case.
Milwaukee will host Game 5 of a series that’s more indecisive than ever Thursday night, and both teams return to Atlanta on Saturday night for Round 6.