THE Milwaukee Bucks don’t know if they’ll have Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they know where they’re going.
For the first time since 1974, they’re headed to the NBA finals.
With Antetokounmpo looking on for the second straight game with a knee injury, the Bucks used spurts to open both halves and a combined 59 points from Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday en route to a series-ending 118-107 victory over the host Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bucks won the series 4-2.
The Bucks thusly earned the right to duel the Western champion Phoenix Suns in a best-of-seven that will tip off Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) in Arizona.
“They have a focus and an edge,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of his team. “That puts us in a position to keep playing. That’s impressive, but we’ve still got more work to do.”
En route to a 51-21 record in the West, which was five games better than Milwaukee’s 46-26 in the East, the Suns swept a pair of thrillers from the Bucks in the regular season, winning 125-124 at home on Feb. 10 and 128-127 in overtime at Milwaukee on April 19.
By virtue of having had the better record in the regular season, the Suns will have the home-court advantage in the series. Phoenix was seeded second in the West, Milwaukee third in the East.
Phoenix, which completed a 4-2 series win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, will have one other advantage in the Finals. The Suns will get a six-day rest before Game 1 whereas the Bucks will have less than 72 hours to travel and prepare.
“It’s a quick turn, but we’ll be ready,” promised Budenholzer, who noted his team struggled after having enjoyed six- and three-day breaks leading into Game 1 of each of their last two series.
“We’ve had long, extended pauses in between each round. I’m kinda excited to try it without one. Maybe we can be the team that’s in rhythm.”
Needing a win to stay alive, the Hawks got star guard Trae Young back from a foot injury for Game 6 against the Bucks. But it didn’t matter.
He clearly wasn’t in rhythm, shooting just 4-for-17 overall and 0-for-6 on 3-pointers en route to 14 points and a game-high-tying nine assists.
Milwaukee left little doubt, riding Middleton’s 32 points and Holiday’s 27 to a second straight win after the Hawks had rallied to tie the series at 2-2.
“I know they were missing Giannis, but Milwaukee is a really good team,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “That team was on a mission. They’ve been on a mission the last couple of years.”
As they had done in the first quarter, when they bolted out to a 15-4 lead, the Bucks used a spurt early in the third period to build a double-digit lead. Middleton did all the scoring.
