Milwaukee Bucks Outscore Atlanta Hawks, Secure Second-Largest Halftime Lead In NBA Finals History
The Milwaukee Bucks started Game 2 with their feet on the gas, leaving the Atlanta Hawks early in the game to set the second-largest halftime lead in a conference or division finals game in NBA history, and finished the game, 125-91, on Friday night, June 25.
Record-Breaking Performance By Milwaukee Bucks
The 32-point advantage of the Milwaukee Bucks at the break marked the second-best Conference finals halftime lead, only behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, who set the NBA record with a 41-point halftime lead over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals in 2017.
According to ESPN, from tipoff to halftime, the Milwaukee Bucks jumped out to a 77-45 lead over the Atlanta Hawks and never looked back. The first half surge of the bucks was led by their stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and their guard Jrue Holiday.
In the first half, Jrue Holiday guarded star point guard of the Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young, on 29 of 47 plays, and the Bucks guard managed to effectively contain him.
Trae Young, who had a spectacular performance in the East Conference Finals opening game, was only 2-of-8 with six turnovers on all of the plays that he was guarded by Holiday.
The Hawks star guard also recorded eight first-half turnovers. Those committed turnovers by Trae Young were the most turnovers he committed in any half of his career.
Jrue Holiday played 32 minutes of action in Game 2 and gave Bucks 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.
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Dominating Performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Milwaukee Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and his signature spin moves that helped him dominate in the paint. The "Greek Freak" imposed his dominance on the floor by displaying multiple moves in the paint.
Giannis Antetokounmpo left the game early, who played for only 29 minutes. Despite his limited minutes, he registered 29 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists.
The Milwaukee Bucks' main man opened the first quarter with a spin move coming from an offensive rebound to start the scoring barrage. He later put Hawks forward Solomon Hill on a spin cycle as he spin and performed a double-pump lay-up to avoid the defender.
The Greek Freak strode his way in front of the entire Hawks' defense and finished at the rim. Brook Lopez has also been a great contributor in the Game 2 matchup.
Compared to his performance in the opening game, the Milwaukee Bucks' center asserted himself well on the floor for the Bucks. Lopez stretched the floor early in the game by draining two 3-pointers to create space on the floor for the Bucks.
The Bucks' Center then imposed his size in the paint to confused the Hawks' defense in defending him.Lopez became a problem for the Hawks in Game 2, dropping 16 points, including his poster dunk on Clint Capela.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan admitted that his squad needs to play better on the remaining games in the series. He said that the Bucks showed them that they need to play for another level to win games moving forward.
McMillan added that he was not surprised with the way the Bucks played after being down one game at home before the match.
READ MORE: Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks Snatch East Finals Game 1 Against Milwaukee Bucks, 116-113
WATCH: #5 HAWKS at #3 BUCKS | FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS | June 25, 2021 - From NBA