Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo on Sunday combined for 71 points as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied to beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Middleton scored 20 of his 38 points in a blistering fourth-quarter performance, while Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds as the Bucks grabbed a 2-1 series lead in front of a crowd of 16,600 at State Farm Arena in Georgia.
Middleton also had 11 rebounds.
Photo: Dale Zanine-USA Today
“What I saw today was unbelievable. It was greatness,” Antetokounmpo said of Middleton.
Game 4 is today in Atlanta, where the Hawks are now 3-3 at home in the playoffs.
The Bucks were down by 15 points in the first quarter and did not take their first lead until the third, but they finished with a 25-7 scoring surge as Middleton led the charge.
“Shout out to Khris for the fourth quarter. He went crazy,” Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis said. “He did his thing, that’s for sure.”
Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and Italy’s Danilo Gallinari came off the bench to score 18 in the loss. John Collins (13) and Kevin Huerter (11) also scored in double digits.
The Hawks offense started to wilt after Young appeared to injure his ankle when he stepped on an official’s foot and headed to the dressing room late in the third quarter.
He returned with about three minutes gone in the final quarter.
Young is averaging 9.9 assists in the post-season, but had just four on Sunday as he did not get as much help from his supporting cast.
He said his ankle was “hurting,” but added that he hoped it would be fine for Game 4 after seeing the team doctors.
“I am going to get as much treatment as I can,” Young said. “That’s the plan.”
Milwaukee improved to 3-0 in Game 3s during the post-season. They cruised to a 113-84 win over the Miami Heat en route to a four-game sweep in the first round, then held on for an 86-83 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of the second round to jump-start a series comeback.
The Bucks won despite Antetokounmpo making just six of 12 from the free-throw line.
The Atlanta crowd tried to distract Antetokounmpo throughout the game, counting out loud how many seconds it took him to shoot a free throw.
He shot an impressive 13 of 21 from the floor.
“We just had to stay with it. We didn’t play our best basketball at the start,” Middleton said.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one