The Atlanta Hawks were in Milwaukee again Friday evening looking for a 2-0 series lead over the Bucks. Game 2 did not go their way however, as they were on the wrong end of a lopsided 125-91 loss, trailing by as many as 41 points at one point.
The first quarter wasn’t pretty for Atlanta, but was salvaged by nine points over a three-minute span by Danilo Gallinari. That was enough to keep the Hawks within reach though the first 12 minutes, as they trailed 34-28 heading to the second.
9 quick points off the bench pic.twitter.com/VvIEmnQmE6
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 26, 2021
After a challenging first quarter, the second was an outright disaster. Milwaukee outscored the Hawks 43-17 in the period, putting down the throttle on both ends of the court. The run reached 20-0 at one point, and the Bucks made eight of their first 13 threes after making just 8-of-36 in Game 1 as a whole.
✈️✈️✈️
— NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2021
John Collins SOARS above the rim during Game 2 of the #NBAECF presented by AT&T! pic.twitter.com/fWaeldcvmK
As a result, Milwaukee carried a 77-45 lead into the half. Both Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo were unstoppable before the break. Holiday led all scorers with 19 points to go along with four assists in the opening half, while Antetokounmpo had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
GIANNIS SPIN.
— NBA (@NBA) June 26, 2021
GIANNIS MID-AIR ADJUSTMENT.
GIANNIS FINGER ROLL.#ThatsGame #NBAPlayoffs on TNT pic.twitter.com/xPrYIp30wT
For the Hawks, Young led the way with 13 points but had a career-high eight first-half turnovers. Gallinari had nine points at the break. Notably, Cam Reddish did appear in the second quarter, his first game action since Feb. 21, and hence, his first action since Nate McMillan took over the head coaching spot. He had been available in Game 1, but didn’t make an appearance.
The third quarter did not bring better fortunes for the visitors, as they found themselves trailing by as many as forty points. The offense again sputtered, as they shot just 2-of-11 from three in the period and and 8-for-23 (34%) overall. They scored just 18 points in the quarter, as truly no one had it going.
The Hawks trailed 103-63 (not a misprint) heading to the fourth quarter, and needless to say the game was essentially over from there. They didn’t come back or make a run, it was not good, in any way, truly. The end result is all that matters, however, and Atlanta still returns home with a tied 1-1 series, which is what matters in the grand scheme.
Antetokounmpo lead all scorers with 25 points to go with nine rebounds and six assists. Holiday finished with 22 points and seven assists. For the Hawks, Young finished with 15 points, but did rack up nine turnovers in 26 minutes.
The defensive adjustments Milwaukee made seemed to leave Atlanta looking for answers, as they held the Hawks to 40% shooting and 25% from three-point range. The Bucks meanwhile shot 15-for-41 from three, and 52% from the floor.
The Bucks and Hawks will matchup in Atlanta for Game 3 on Sunday.
Stay tuned.