Milwaukee Bucks: Grades from thrilling Game 3 win over Atlanta Hawks
By Dalton Sell
Fans are still left in shock after watching an epic clash between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks in last night’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Trailing for most of the matchup and finding themselves unable to sustain any lead they were fortunate enough to take take, the Bucks appeared to be in trouble late in the game. Despite the scene looking dreadful, Milwaukee tightened things up on both ends and ended up winning the game with a much-needed 113-102 win on the road to take a 2-1 series lead.
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This was a gutsy win for this Milwaukee team after playing grueling basketball largely for this first three quarters. It was impressive that they manage to keep the game close despite committing countless self-inflicted errors ranging from sloppy passes to many head-scratching decisions regarding shot selection.
Still, they stuck with it and managed to pull out the victory, and here are player grades from the contest to see who helped them ultimately secure the win.
How did the Milwaukee Bucks’ second unit perform against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3?
PAT CONNAUGHTON. B+. Seeing a whopping 32 minutes of action, Pat Connaughton was Milwaukee’s sixth man in last night’s win. The guard was solid by scoring 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting, but his overall impact came elsewhere, particularly in the rebounding department. Connaughton hauled in eight rebounds for the game, four being offensive while the other four were defensive. All of those boards were necessary, but his rebounding on the offensive glass was fantastic, giving the Bucks more opportunities to put points on the board. He was also active defensively by tallying a blocked shot on the evening that prevented an easy bucket for Bogdan Bogdanovic on the fastbreak. Unfortunately, it was ruled last touched by Connaughton, although the reply clear showed it was off Clint Capela’s foot, and the Hawks scored off of it. Still, Pat deserves praise for sticking with it and having another great performance off the bench overall.. SG. Milwaukee Bucks
A. It seems that Bobby Portis continues growing his fan-favorite stock more and more with each passing game, and it is not hard to see why. The big man provided his typical jolt of energy offensively off the bench by scoring 15 points, the third-most by a Buck last night, while also getting in on the rebounding action by hauling in two offensively and two defensively. He was also active on the defensive end by snatching two steals for the ballgame, creating some plays down on the other end to help Milwaukee put extra points on the board. It was yet another great performance from Portis as everyone watching is thrilled to see him back in the rotation once more after a brief absence.. C. Milwaukee Bucks. BOBBY PORTIS
SG. Milwaukee Bucks. BRYN FORBES. D-. Known for his red-hot 3-point shooting, Bryn Forbes could not throw a rock into the ocean in Game 3 with the Hawks. The shooting guard finished with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range. One particular sequence that stood out was Forbes getting the ball on a 4-on-1 fastbreak in favor of the Bucks, and rather than passing it inside for a better look, he hoisted a triple that did not go in. Given how desperately the Bucks needed to add points at that time, it was a head-scratching decision from Forbes. He made several puzzling decisions when it came to his shot attempts last night, as evidenced by his overall numbers. It was good to see him knock down a shot from the outside, but his consistency is still a work in progress.