Khris Middleton lifts the Milwaukee Bucks to overtake the Atlanta Hawks, to the NBA Finals

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ATLANTA — The Milwaukee Bucks head into the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974 — and take the series’ final wins without star Giannis Antetokounmue.

The Milwaukee defeated the Atlanta Hawks 118-107 in Game Six on Saturday behind 32 points from Chris Middleton. Junior Holiday added 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

When the final bell rang out and the Bucks crowded into the middle of the field, donning hats and T-shirts declaring they were the Eastern Conference champions, the players hugged each other and laughed. Embrace coaches. Antetokounmpo, who had been off since injuring his knee in the third quarter of Game 4 when he landed awkwardly after running into an alley, was in the middle of it all – a victorious fist raised in the air.

Thursday marked the end of a slew of Milwaukee playoffs that were either cut or skewed. In the 2019 Postseason, the Milwaukee Bucks swept the Detroit Pistons, defeating the Celtics in five games and making a 2-0 lead against the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. Then, after losing consecutive games only once throughout the regular season, the Bucks lost four consecutive games to the Raptors and were eliminated.

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Last season in the NBA bubble, the Bucks flopped to a disappointing finish in the playoffs. Milwaukee got the top seed and beat the Orlando Magic in five games. But Antetokounmpo injured his ankle in Game 3 of the team’s series against the Miami Heat.

He gave it a chance in Game 4, but re-twisted his ankle in that game and was unable to play in Game 5, when Milwaukee was eliminated. At the time, Antetokounmpo said that “no one will be happy” with Milwaukee’s 2019-20 playoff result. He said he hopes they learn from that loss.

It seems they did.

The Bucks avenged last season’s loss and won Balti in four games in the first round. Halfway through that streak, starting guard Donte DiVincenzo injured his ankle. He had surgery at the end of the season on ligaments in his left ankle in June and PJ Tucker slipped into the starting role.

However, Milwaukee kept rolling. After falling 3-2 in a wild series against betting favorite Brooklyn Nets, the Bucks outscored him in a seven-game streak. And after losing their first home qualifier in the first round of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bucks fought back—including winning two games without Antetokounmue.

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In Game 6, the Bucks jumped back by 15-4 before the Hawks bounced back to make it one possession game. The Bucks weathered that storm as well, pushing their advantage back to ten. Your double-digit Bucks score leads to the advantages of a single bucket, but Milwaukee is never behind.

When the Hawks approached, Milwaukee had answers. Middleton scored 16 consecutive points in the third quarter to extend the Bucks advantage en route to a 23-point lead in the third quarter. This was his third 20-point quarter of his playoff career, according to ESPN stats and info. No other Bucks player has done this even once in the last 25 seasons.

Atlanta continued to lag, cutting the Bucks’ 22-point lead back to six in the fourth quarter. But in the end, it proved to be an insurmountable obstacle for the Falcons. Corner dagger 3 from Tucker secured victory for Milwaukee.

The whole time Antetokounmpo – almost never sitting – stood on the sidelines in black shorts and a warm Bucks T-shirt. Protective sleeves covered his highly stretched left knee. But even wounded and unable to play, Antetokounmue was in the middle of celebrating Saturday night. His longest hug was reserved for his brother and colleague Thanasis.

And while there is no public decision on whether Antetokounmpo will be available to play in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, one thing is for sure: The Bucks sit atop a hill that Antetokounmpo has been fantasizing for years.

Now, they have one more leg to complete.

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