By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After almost 5 decades, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks are finally advancing to the NBA Finals.
As the clock ticked down to the final buzzer, an overwhelmed Bucks squad screamed their hearts out and finally called themselves the 2021 Eastern Conference kings after eliminating Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, 118-107, and will march to the NBA Finals after 47 years.
It was evident that the Bucks wanted that trip to the biggest stage as they came out fiery hot from the field led by an aggressive Jrue Holiday.
The two-way star broke down the Atlanta defense, went to the rim at will, and at the same time put on a decent body on the returning Young who struggled from the field throughout the game.
Holiday would go on and continue his damage until the fourth including a clutch reverse layup that answered a Hawks scoring avalanche with 3:23 remaining in the fourth.
What was once a 22-point lead for Milwaukee melted to just six, 107-101, but Holiday’s acrobatic reverse increased their cushion to halt Atlanta’s momentum.
After scoring his deuce, the crafty Holiday delivered the finishing touches and weaved through the Atlanta defense for another alley-oop assist to Brook Lopez with one minute remaining in the game and extended their lead to 10, 113-103.
Holiday finished the game with a near triple-double of 27 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, four steals, and two blocks.
Khris Middleton also played huge for the Bucks and spearheaded another insane shooting clinic in the third quarter after scoring 21 points alone in just 11 minutes to end up with a game-high 32 points.
Meanwhile, Cam Reddish led the scoring for the Hawks with 21 but did not get enough offensive help from Young who only tallied 14 points in 35 minutes of action.
The Bucks are now set to face Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns for the Finals and will slug it out in Game 1 on July 7.
