Khris
Middleton inspired the Milwaukee Bucks to a late comeback against the Atlanta
Hawks
in game three of their NBA Eastern Conference finals series on Sunday, bursting into life in the
final quarter to finish top-scorer in their 102-113 win.   

Middleton scored
20 points in the fourth-quarter to finish with 38 points as well as 11 rebounds
and 7 assists as Bucks improved to 3-0 in game threes in the ongoing playoffs.

Middleton was
born on August 12, 1991 in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended the
Porter-Gaud School. As a sophomore, he averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per
game and had an average of 21 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in his junior
season.

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He led
Porter-Gaud to the state title game with an average of 22.4 points and 8.6
rebounds per game as a senior. He was ranked as the 64th best
prospect in the Class of 2009, after which he played college basketball for Texas
A&M until 2012.

He was then
selected by the Detroit Pistons as the 39th overall pick in the 2012
NBA draft. After signing his rookie scale contract with the Pistons, he was
assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA Development League, but was
recalled a week later. In his debut season, he played 27 games, averaging 6.1
points, 1.9 rebounds and 1 assist per game.

In 2013, he
was traded by the Pistons along with Brandon Knight and Viacheslav Kravtos to
the Milwaukee Bucks for Brandon Jennings. After a quiet 2012-13, Middleton
played all 82 games the following season, startgin 64 of them. He averaged 12.1
points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 30 minutes per game.

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His stature in the team grew over the next few seasons as he emerged as an important power forward with impressive shooting accuracy. He was rewarded with a $70
million, five-year contract in 2015, with the player option for the fifth year. 

His best
points return so far came in the 2017-18 season, scoring 1,652 points at an
average of 20.1 per game in 36.4 average minutes over 82 games. After the end of the 2018-19 season, Middleton signed a five-year, $178-million contract extension.

His best
points average came last season, scoring 1,297 points at an average of 20.9
over 62 games. He is a two-time
NBA All-Star, making the selection in 2019 and 2020.

He recorded his career-best points returns against the Washington Wizards in January, 2020, scoring 51 points.