Atlanta, Georgia (tca/dpa) — The fifth-seeded Hawks overcame star guard Trae Young’s absence to beat the number three seed Bucks, 110-88, in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday at State Farm Arena.
The series is tied 2-2, with game five coming at 8:30 pm (1230 GMT) Thursday in Milwaukee.
Lou Williams (21 points) filled in well for Young, giving the Hawks the scoring burst they needed along with eight assists, and Bogdan Bogdanovic (20 points, five assists, three rebounds, four steals) returned to form after struggling with knee soreness and looking out-of-sorts the past few games.
Kevin Huerter added seven assists and 15 points. The playmaking of Williams, Bogdanovic and Huerter was key, in Young’s absence.
Cam Reddish, who hasn’t really been part of the rotation after missing about four months with right Achilles soreness, was a defensive force against Khris Middleton and added 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, plus two steals and a block.
In a scary moment midway through the third quarter, the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo fell down hard, stayed down for a while and had to be helped off the court, barely able to put weight on his left leg. He had to stop several times to collect himself and seemed to be in a lot of pain, ruled out with a left knee hyperextension, per the Bucks.
By Sarah K Spencer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution