Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and recorded eight assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 110-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, earning a spot in the NBA Cup final. Damian Lillard added 25 points for the Bucks, shooting 8-of-21 from the field and 5-of-14 from three-point range.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and 10 assists, making 9 of 18 shots. Young also grabbed seven rebounds in the first half, just missing a triple-double.
The Bucks will face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Houston Rockets in Tuesday’s title game.
Milwaukee finished strong in the fourth quarter, outscoring Atlanta 28-19 with a strong defensive effort to hold off a comeback. Antetokounmpo scored 10 points in the final quarter to push the Bucks past the Hawks.
Young was impressive in the third quarter, scoring 14 points to help Atlanta erase Milwaukee’s eight-point lead. Onyeka Okungwu hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 78, and Jalen Johnson dunked to give the Hawks an 80-78 lead with 32.6 seconds left in the quarter.
Johnson was given a technical foul for his reaction to the dunk, and Lillard made a free throw to reduce the Hawks’ lead to 80-79. Johnson then made his free throw to give Atlanta an 81-79 advantage.
Lillard responded by hitting a 3-pointer, giving the Bucks an 82-81 lead with 15 seconds left. Johnson later scored on a tip-in, giving the Hawks an 83-82 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Hawks were ahead 28-26 after the first quarter, but the Bucks outscored them by eight points in the second quarter, leading 55-49 at halftime. Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 14 points in the first half, shooting 5-of-8 from the field. Young led Atlanta with 12 points and was close to a triple-double by halftime with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Milwaukee shot 39-of-86 (45.3 percent) from the field and made 14 of 45 attempts from three-point range. They outscored Atlanta 22-15 in fast-break points and had a 47-44 advantage in rebounds. Atlanta shot 42.7 percent from the field and made 10-of-24 from three-point range.
