Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily. We are now in the Conference Finals!
The Milwaukee Bucks are back in the NBA Finals for the first time in 47 years.
(PHOTO CREDIT: John Bazemore/AP.)
Entering this game, I thought that Atlanta might be able to push this to 7. Trae Young was back and Giannis Antetokounmpo was not well enough to play. On paper, it’s advantage: Atlanta.
But Young was off right from the start. In fact, pretty much the entire game was off. The Bucks weren’t even shooting 40 percent and the Hawks were below 32 percent shooting. There’s your old-school NBA game right there. Still, it was a close game as Bucks led, 47-43.
The third quarter was pretty much the deciding factor.
Khris Middleton couldn’t miss. He went on a PERSONAL 13-0 run at the start of the third quarter. He would go on to score 23 points in the period. It was getting pretty bad that former Hawk Jeff Teague hit a big three near the end of the third. The Hawks were suddenly down by 19.
We know the Hawks are resilient; they wouldn’t be if they got this far. Cam Reddish made 6 threes in the game as he tried to keep Atlanta in it. They were able to cut the deficit down to 6. Maybe we were going to get a Game 7.
But if you give P.J. Tucker a corner three, then you’re just asking for it. His specialty shot put the Bucks up 10 with a minute left and that was all she wrote. The Milwaukee Bucks are going to their first NBA Finals since 1974.
Except for the Atlanta Hawks, no one could’ve possibly seen this run by the Hawks. They handled the cinderella regular season team easily (the Knicks) in the first round. They went on to upset the #1 seed Philadelphia 76ers at their house in Game 7. And they absolutely had a chance to go to the NBA Finals.
But the Milwaukee Bucks are a tough and tested team. Even without Giannis. Khris Middleton has seen many battles that he wasn’t going to let his team go to a Game 7. Jrue Holiday was brought to the Bucks for a reason; he would be the stable backcourt player handling things on both ends. P.J. Tucker was acquired from Houston to give them more defense. Brook Lopez continued to give them the size and the scoring. And of course, Bobby Portis came into the Bucks with more toughness and scoring. They did lose Donte DiVincenzo but it feels like they have more than enough to combat the Suns should Giannis be healthy enough.
Atlanta had a magical run but the East belongs to Milwaukee. The Finals start on Tuesday.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
July 3, 2021
NBA Playoff Series Count
EAST
#3 Bucks defeat #5 Hawks, 4-2.
#5 Hawks defeat #1 Sixers, 4-3.
#3 Bucks defeat #2 Nets, 4-3.
#1 Sixers defeat #8 Wizards, 4-1.
#5 Hawks defeat #4 Knicks, 4-1.
#2 Nets defeat #7 Celtics, 4-1.
#3 Bucks defeat #6 Heat, 4-0.
WEST
#2 Suns defeat #4 Clippers, 4-2.
#4 Clippers defeat #1 Jazz, 4-2.
#2 Suns defeat #3 Nuggets, 4-0.
#1 Jazz defeat #8 Grizzlies, 4-1.
#4 Clippers defeat #5 Mavericks, 4-3.
#2 Suns defeat #7 Lakers, 4-2.
#3 Nuggets defeat #6 Blazers, 4-2.
Watch This Play
Brook Lopez again!
Jrue finds Brook above the rim! 💥@Bucks up 10 with 1:29 left in Game 6 on TNT pic.twitter.com/7KKC3wW8dr
— NBA (@NBA) July 4, 2021
Now he and the Bucks are going to the Finals!
(Also, happy trails, Marv Albert.)
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.