ATLANTA -- khris Middleton showed once again that the Milwaukee Bucks have more than one player capable of handling a game.
He did it on Sunday night at the best possible time.
Middleton scored 20 high-tying 38 points of his playoff career in the fourth quarter, giving the Bucks a 2–1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals for a 113–102 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
"What he did today was untrue," said Giannis Antetokounmpo. "He was unbelievable. What led the team in the end. ... What I saw today was greatness. Simple as that."
Trae Young scored 35 points for Atlanta but slowed down in the final period. He stepped on an officer's leg late in the third and injured his right ankle. He will have an MRI of his ankle on Monday.
"It's hurting. It's frustrating," Young said, adding the injury affected "my jerk-motion."
Game 4 is Tuesday night in Atlanta.
Middleton scored 10 points in the deciding run in the fourth to give Milwaukee the lead. He had 11 rebounds and seven assists.
"I finally got them to go," Middleton said. "I was struggling a bit with the ball in the basket. Eventually he started falling for me at just the right time. I'm grateful for that."
Antetokounmpo, who often makes headlines for Milwaukee, had 33 points. The Bucks held back most of the game before taking the lead in the fourth quarter. Atlanta led 95–88 before Middleton scored his first three 3-pointers during a 15–3 run to take a 103–98 lead.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said, "Just having a lot around him, he starts to see it go in, he starts to feel good, he gets into the rhythm in a lot of ways," I'm glad. that he is on our side."
The Hawks were eager to get off to a better start in their first home game of the series, after never leading the way in a 125–91 Game 2 loss. Turnovers from Middleton and Antetokounmpo stung Clint Capela, and Kevin Huerter added a 3-pointer for a 7-0 lead.
The Hawks extended the advantage to 13 points. Antetokounmpo were held to five points in the first quarter, but regained their scoring form in the second period. They had 11 points in the period as the Bucks finally pulled off a 3-pointer by Pat Connaughton on a 56-all with 12 seconds left in the half.
The Bucks took their first lead at 82-80 on the basket by Bobby Portis Jr. with 1:47 remaining in the third. A 3-pointer from Danilo Gallinari, who had 18 points, gave Atlanta an 85-83 lead at the end of the period.
Middleton started the final period with a sinking 3, marking the start of his big round. He overtook the Hawks, who had 17 points in the period.
"He was going from really everywhere," Hawks coach Nate McMillan said.
Tip-ins
The Bux: Antetokounmpo was on a report of possible injury with a left calf splint, but was not affected by the injury. He made 11 rebounds and played 41 minutes. "I think it's in a good place," Budenholzer said. "He has to be on top of it." ... Portis scored 15 points.
Hawks: Young sat on the court for a few seconds after an ankle injury before going into the locker room. He returned with 8:44 remaining in the game. ...F Cam Reddish was available, but did not play after scoring 11 points in Game 2 on a return from an Achilles tendon injury. This was his first action after 21 February. McMillan said he is not yet ready to cast Radish in a more prominent role.
10. count to
Hawks fans followed the recent trend of counting Antetokounmpo's time at the free throw line. Fans usually counted after 10 before they started the attempt, but no violations of 10 seconds were noted.
Fans rejoiced when he missed each of his first two free throws in the first quarter. He threw an airball off the line in the second period, again earning cheer from the sold-out crowd.
Antetokounmpo was only 6 out of 13 for the game.
familiar challenge
Game by game, the Hawks are following the same script for their Eastern Conference semifinal series win over Philadelphia. As in that series, the Hawks split two games on the road before losing their first home game. They won the series in seven matches.
"We've been in this situation before and we'll be ready for Game 4," Gallinari said.