Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo each scored over 30 points as the Milwaukee Bucks mustered a late a comeback to win 102-113 at Atlanta Hawks and take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference finals series on Sunday. 

Middleton led the scoring with 20 fourth-quarter points to finish with a playoff career high of 38 in the match to lead Bucks‘ late rally. He also recorded 11 rebounds and 7 assists, while Antetokounmpo – last year’s MVP – scored 33 points along with 11 rebounds and 4 assists. 

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Trae Young, whose 48-point blitz helped the Hawks to a 116-113 win in game 1, led the scoring again for the Atlanta outfit with 35 points. The 22-year-old is averaging 9.9 assists in the postseason but had just four on Sunday as he didn’t get as much help from his supporting cast. Italy’s Danilo Gallinari came off the bench to score 18 points in the loss.

Game four is Tuesday 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 didn’t take their first lead until the third, but they finished with a 25-7 scoring surge as Middleton led the charge.

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The Hawks offense started to wilt after Young appeared to reinjure his right ankle and headed to the dressing room late in the third. He returned with about three minutes gone in the final quarter.

Milwaukee improved to 3-0 in game threes during the postseason. They cruised to a 113-84 win over the Miami Heat en route to a four-game sweep in the first round, and held on for an 86-83 win over the Brooklyn Nets in game three 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 takes him to shoot a free throw. He shot an impressive 13-of-21 from the floor.

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The Hawks started quickly jumping out to a 25-14 point lead with just under four minutes left in the first quarter as Young had 10 points.

Atlanta carried the play for almost the entire first half, leading by 15 points in the first. But the Bucks tied it 56-56 on their final possession of the second quarter when Pat Connaughton nailed a 23=foot three-pointer from the corner after taking a pass from Jrue Holiday.

The Bucks finally grabbed the lead late in the third when Bobby Portis made a basket to make it 82-80.

Antetokounmpo sparked the comeback by scoring 11 points in the second quarter which set the stage for Middleton to shine down the stretch and seal the victory.