Giannis Antetokounmpo slammed one of his boulder shoulders into Trae Young, the NBA’s slightest star. Young moved back a step or two in the paint but did not yield. Antetokounmpo, 6-foot-11, had to settle for a fadeaway jumper over his small-but-pesky defender. He missed.
That’s how it goes with Young and these Hawks. They don’t give in when they seemingly are outmatched. Push them and they push back. Invite them to your place and they take it over. And Young, the smallest Hawk of them all, never backs down.
Young lifted the Hawks to victory over the Bucks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday in Milwaukee. You can’t say the Hawks stunned the Bucks, because is this really a surprise anymore? The Hawks have won on the road to open all three series, all against higher-seeded opponents, with Young as their leader. This is just what they do.
Young was magnificent again in the 116-113 victory over the Bucks. He scored 48 points and had 11 assists. In Game 1 at New York, Young had 32 points, including the game-winning basket, and 10 assists. Young had 35 points and 10 assists in Game 1 at top-seeded Philadelphia.
Young is just 22-years old. He’s playing in his first postseason. He’s 6-foot-1 and maybe 180 pounds. Three elite defensive teams have done everything they can to stop him. Young conquers them, and then seems unimpressed with himself.
“When you have a coach that believes in you, and have teammates that make plays and also believe in you, it makes my job a lot easier,” Young said. “I try to go out and have fun and enjoy the game, and whatever happens, happens.”
What’s happening is special. Young may make it look easy, but it’s not.
Young scored or assisted on 72 points. That’s a record for the conference finals. He’s the second-youngest player to record 45-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game. Luka Doncic, the player the Hawks traded for Young on draft night, was days younger when he did it against the Clippers in the first round of these playoffs.
Young’s effort sent the Hawks to their first-ever victory in the East finals.
“You have to put him with the top guys in the league,” Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan said. “He really doesn’t have a weakness on the offensive end of the floor.”
The Bucks faced the same dilemma as so many opponents do against Young. He was cooking in the first half because he had his floater going and made long 3-pointers back-to-back. The Bucks had to be more aggressive sending extra defenders at Young, but that’s when he manipulates space and plays the angles to get his teammates easy shots.
Young was just 1-for7 shooting in the fourth quarter but made 9 of 10 free throws and had two key assists at winning time. He zipped a pass to John Collins for a layup that cut Milwaukee’s lead to 107-105 and found Collins in the corner for a 3-pointer that got the Hawks within 111-110. The Hawks went ahead for good when Clint Capela corralled Young’s missed floater over Antetokounmpo and put it in the basket with 29.8 seconds left.
Young then chased down a loose ball after a missed basket and got fouled. He made both free throws. On Milwaukee’s next possession, Young helped force Bucks guard Jrue Holiday to pass to Antetokounmpo under the basket with the Bucks trailing by three points. The Hawks fouled Antetokounmpo, who is a poor free-throw shooter. He made both but Young responded with two free throws, and the Hawks secured the victory when Khris Middelton missed a 3-point try.
The Hawks once again started a playoff series by beating a favored foe on the road. They were out of sorts to start the game. Transition defense is a key for them in this series. It was bad early.
The Hawks are a very good defensive team when they get set in the halfcourt. They don’t have the speed and athleticism to scramble well. Not doing so against the Bucks risks giving Antetokounmpo room to get to the rim. A couple long strides later and he’s dropping the ball in the basket with his long arms.
Antetokounmpo did that four times in the first quarter. He dropped off a pass to Brook Lopez for a dunk another time. Capela, his primary defender, did relatively well keeping Antetokounmpo away from the rim in the halfcourt. Antetokounmpo scored 34 points but the Hawks made it harder on him later in the game.
The Hawks, as is their nature, figured out a way to stay in the game despite allowing so many easy baskets. Young had a lot to do with that. He made six of his first nine shots and handed out two assists as the Hawks took a 20-19 lead. Young was smooth and in control of the pace while most of his teammates looked a step slow.
Young was still cooking in the second quarter. He had his floater going. He made long 3-pointers back-to-back. The Bucks eventually changed their defensive strategy to slow Young’s drives and cut off his space for 3-pointers, so he hurt them with his playmaking.
“I’ve seen pretty much every defense,” Young said. “It’s really just figuring out what kind of defense they are showing.”
Young zipped the ball to Capela for a dunk. He passed behind his back out of a trap to Kevin Huerter, who made a 3-ponter that put the Hawks ahead 46-45. Young used his wicked crossover to free himself for consecutive jumpers. He tiptoed the sideline after saving an errant pass and fired the ball crosscourt to Collins, who moved it to Danilo Gallinari for a 3-pointer.
The Hawks trailed 59-54 at halftime. Young had 25 points and assisted on nine points. Two of those assists were for Capela dunks, one was for a Collins score and the other resulted in Huerter’s 3-pointer. Young was carrying the Hawks, but he needed more scoring help.
He got it from Collins and Capela. Collins scored seven points on 3-for-3 shooting the fourth quarter. Capela had six points and eight rebounds in the period. The Hawks would have been in trouble without Collins’ 23 points and Capela’s 12 because Young was the only Hawks backcourt player who had it going.
That’s why Bogdan Bogdanovic’s injury is such a detriment. He faded in the Sixers series because of a sore right knee and his vertical and lateral movement didn’t look good in Game 1. Bogdanovic was 1-for-6 from the field and scored four points in 27 minutes.
The Hawks will have to overcome their thin backcourt depth. Young can’t do all the scoring. Huerter had 13 points in Game 1. Bogdanovic, Solomon Hill and Lou Williams combined for 11 points on of 3-for-15 shooting in 59 minutes.
And somebody on the Hawks has to stay in front of the Bucks’ Holiday. He went for 33 points and 10 assists. Middleton, Milwaukee’s No. 2 scorer, was 6-for-23 shooting. That’s not likely to happen again. Perimeter defense has been a persistent problem for the Hawks.
Those are problems for them to worry about later. For now, the Hawks will savor another playoff road win behind Young’s brilliant play.
“We all believe,” Young said. “When you have a group that really believes and is fighting on the court together, anything can happen. Our team really believes that, and it’s been working.”
Hawks-Bucks series
Game 1: Hawks 116, Bucks 113
Game 2, Friday, June 25: Hawks at Bucks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Game 3, Sunday, June 27: Bucks at Hawks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Game 4, Tuesday, June 29: Bucks at Hawks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Game 5*, Thursday, July 1: Hawks at Bucks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Game 6*, Saturday, July 3: Bucks at Hawks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Game 7*, Monday, July 5: Hawks at Bucks, 8:30 p.m., TNT
* — If necessary
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