The Milwaukee Bucks are one game away from the NBA Finals. On Thursday, they hosted the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals with both sides missing key contributors. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Trae Young, DeAndre Hunter and Donte DiVincenzo all remain out, but the Bucks did a better job of replacing their superstar’s production. After jumping ahead by as many as 20 points in the first half, the Bucks pulled out the victory, 123-112, to take a 3-2 lead in the series.
Four players stood out. Brook Lopez led the way with a playoff career-high 33 points, but three of his teammates were hot on his trail. Khris Middleton scored 26 points of his own to go along with 25 from Jrue Holiday and 22 from Bobby Portis. Combined, they scored all but 17 of Milwaukee’s points for the game. It was a valiant effort from a hobbled Bogdan Bogdanovic to score 28 for the Hawks, but his teammates couldn’t give him enough support to steal this one.
The Bucks and Hawks will now travel to Atlanta for Game 6 on Saturday. If the Hawks win, Game 7 in Milwaukee will be on Monday. If the Bucks win? They’ll meet the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.
