NBA: Bucks bury Hawks, level East finals at 1-1

The host Milwaukee Bucks upped their intensity from the jump, leading wire-to-wire on Friday en route to knotting the Eastern Conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks at one win apiece.

Fresh off a convincing 125-91 victory, the Bucks look to maintain that spirited play when the best-of-seven series shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Sunday.

"We came in focused on each possession at a time in Game 2, and we were able to do it together as a team," said Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who collected 25 points and nine rebounds in three quarters before sitting out the fourth.

Jrue Holiday added 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the floor for the third-seeded Bucks.

Brook Lopez scored 16 points and Khris Middleton added 15 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, which effectively put the game on ice with a 20-0 run over a 4:18 span during the second quarter. 

The Bucks outscored Atlanta by a 43-17 margin in the second to claim a 77-45 lead at halftime.

Milwaukee shot 52.1 percent from the floor and took advantage of 20 turnovers by the fifth-seeded Hawks. The Bucks also made 15 of 41 attempts from 3-point range after sinking just 8 of 36 from beyond the arc Wednesday during a 116-113 loss in the series opener.

"We needed everybody to be more active," Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said. "The guys, they were great."

Atlanta's Trae Young finished with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor, but he also was responsible for nine turnovers.

"That's all on me. I have to be better at taking care of the ball and just doing a better job of at least giving us a shot and not turning it over way too much," Young said. "I have to do better and will be better next game."

Danilo Gallinari scored 12 points off the bench, and John Collins and Cam Reddish collected 11 points apiece as the Hawks fell to 0-3 in Game 2s this postseason.

Atlanta interim coach Nate McMillan tried to put a positive spin on his team's standing after the first two games of this series.

"Anytime you can go .500 on the road, that's a good thing -- especially in the playoffs," McMillan said. "We had the opportunity to get two, we got one, so we're happy with that.

"But there's another level we have to get to in order to win games and advance. That intensity they came out with wasn't a surprise to us. They just totally dominated the entire game."

Young made his lone 3-pointer on seven first-half attempts to trim Milwaukee's lead to 51-40 with 6:25 remaining in the second quarter before the Bucks turned the game into a laugher. 

Holiday scored nine points and Lopez added seven as Milwaukee erupted for 20 straight points to claim a 71-40 lead with 2:07 to play.

Milwaukee's Pat Connaughton added his third 3-pointer in as many attempts to cap the scoring in the third quarter. Jordan Nwora's layup early in the fourth pushed the Bucks' lead to a game-high 41 points at 105-64.

"Just build off tonight," Connaughton said, when asked how to keep the momentum going.

"There are still things that we can still do a little bit better. We learned from our mistakes from Game 1, we carried over our gameplan to Game 2, and now we need to do the same thing to Game 3."

Antetokounmpo highlighted his nine-point performance in the first quarter with a scintillating spin move around Solomon Hill before converting a finger-roll layup. Milwaukee made 7 of 12 shots from 3-point range to claim a 34-28 lead after the first quarter.

-reuters-

NBA: Trae Young's 41 points carry Hawks past Wizards

Trae Young stalled a Washington rally with his fourth 3-pointer of the game and added a fifth shortly thereafter, helping the visiting Atlanta Hawks hold off the Wizards 116-100 on Friday night.

Young went for 41 points in a head-to-head with NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal, propelling the Hawks to a fifth win in their last seven games.

Beal, who began the day with a 35.4-point scoring average, had 26 points for the Wizards, tying Russell Westbrook for team-high honors.

After leading by as many as 23 in the third quarter, the Hawks found themselves in a game after the Wizards ran off 11 straight points to get within 102-92 with still 5:08 remaining. Rui Hachimura had five of the 11 points, including a 3-pointer.

But Young countered with a 3-pointer at the 4:53 mark, then added another 29 seconds later to help the Hawks pull away.

Young finished 10-for-18 from the field, 5-for-9 on 3-pointers and 16-for-17 at the free throw line en route to his second-highest point total of the season. He had a season-high 43 at Minnesota last Friday.

It was his eighth time over 30 points this season.

John Collins chipped in with 17 points, Clint Capela with a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double and Danilo Gallinari with 11 points off the bench for the Hawks, who were coming off a 132-128 overtime loss at home to Brooklyn.

Beal's 26 points left him four shy of a seventh straight game with 30 or more. He shot 10-for-26 overall, but missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.

Westbrook bombed in three 3-pointers during his 26-point performance, but the Wizards were outscored 36-21 by the Hawks from beyond the arc.

Garrison Mathews added 10 points off the bench for Washington, which lost its fourth straight in the opener of a three-game homestand.

The Hawks never trailed after a layup by Onyeka Okongwu put them up 18-17 at the 2:52 mark of the first quarter.

Atlanta extended the advantage to as many as nine points in the first quarter, 13 in the second and 23 in the third before the Wizards rallied.

-reuters-

NBA: Pistons ride big first half past Hawks

Andre Drummond had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way as the Detroit Pistons jumped to a 24-point lead late in the first quarter and coasted to a 124-109 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

The Pistons made a season-high 20 of 47 attempts from behind the 3-point arc and rolled to their second straight win after a five-game losing streak, despite just six points from Blake Griffin, their leading scorer at 27.3 per game coming in.

Griffin missed eight of his 10 shots, but had nine rebounds and nine assists as Detroit placed seven players in double figures.

Stanley Johnson had 22 points for the Pistons and Langston Galloway scored 16 while combining to hit nine 3-pointers off the bench. 

Rookie Trae Young scored 16 points and had five assists for the Hawks, who lost for the eighth time in their past nine games.

The Pistons hit 11 of their first 15 shots in taking a 26-8 lead six minutes into the game and turned a 40-20 lead at the end of the first quarter into a 74-51 advantage at halftime.

Detroit was 11 of 23 on 3-point attempts in the first half and took a commanding lead despite just one point from Griffin. He missed his only two first-half shots, but had seven assists and six rebounds at intermission.

The Pistons, who led 103-77 after three quarters, got 13 points from Reggie Bullock, 10 coming in the first half, and 12 from Glenn Robinson III.

Taurean Prince returned to the Atlanta lineup after missing two games with a sprained ankle, but had just six points.

Jeremy Lin scored 19 points off the bench for the Hawks, and rookie Omari Spellman had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pistons, who won on the road for the first time Wednesday in Orlando, are home Sunday against Charlotte. The Hawks begin a four-game road trip Sunday at the Los Angeles Lakers.

source: news.abs-cbn.com