A6 The BulleTin • Tuesday, June 29, 2021
ON THE AIR
SCOREBOARD
TUESDAY
BASEBALL
College World Series, Finals, Game 2:
Vanderbilt vs Mississippi State
MLB, Regional Coverage
MLB, Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays
MLB, San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers
BASKETBALL
WNBA, Connecticut Sun at Washington Mystics
NBA, Milwaukee Bucks at Atlanta Hawks
CYCLING
Tour de France, Stage 5
SOCCER
UEFA European Championship, England vs Germany
UEFA European Championship, Sweden vs Ukraine
TENNIS
Wimbledon Championships, First Round
Wimbledon Championships, Second Round
Time
TV
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
4 p.m.
7 p.m.
ESPN
MLB
ROOT
ESPN
4 p.m.
ESPN2
5:30 p.m.
TNT
3:30 a.m. NBCSN
8:30 a.m. ESPN
11:30 a.m. ESPN
8:30 a.m. ESPN2
3 a.m.
ESPN
WEDNESDAY
BASEBALL
MLB, Regional Coverage
MLB, Regional Coverage
College World Series, Finals, Game 3:
Vanderbilt vs Mississippi State (if necessary)
MLB Baseball, Regional Coverage
MLB Baseball, Regional Coverage
BASKETBALL
WNBA, Chicago Sky at Dallas Wings
NBA, Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Clippers
WNBA, Minnesota Lynx at Phoenix Mercury
CYCLING
2021 Tour de France, Stage 6
HOCKEY
Stanley Cup Final,
Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning
TENNIS
Wimbledon Championships, Second Round
Time
10 a.m.
1 p.m.
TV
MLB
MLB
4 p.m.
ESPN2
4 p.m.
MLB
7:30 p.m. MLB
5 p.m.
6 p.m.
7 p.m.
CBSSN
ESPN
CBSSN
4:30 a.m. NBCSN
BASEBALL
Wrestling
MLB
Saturday’s Late Results
3A OWA State Championship at Redmond High
Team Scores (top 10) — la Pine 149.5, Willamina 107,
Rainer 92, dayton 88, Burns 86, yamhill-Carlton 66,
Warrenton 65, santiam Christian 63, Pleasant hill 62.5,
harrisburg 62.
Individual Results (local placers) — 106: 1. Tyson
Flack, lP; 132: 1. dylan Mann, lP; 152: 3. Jose Orozco,
lP; 4. Kaden lorimor, lP; 160: 4. Garrett Forbes, lP; 170:
1. dominick evans, lP; 182: 3. dylan hankey, lP; 195: 3.
landen Roggenkamp, lP.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
W
L
48
31
47
32
40
36
40
38
24
54
2A/1A OWA State Championship
at Sweet Home High
Team Scores (top 10) — Culver 231.5, Pine eagle 94.5,
Central linn 89, Coquille 76, Toledo 63, lakeview 60.5,
Reedsport 53, Vernonia 47, illinois Valley 43, Myrtle
Point 43.
Individual Results (local placers) — 106: 2. aiden
Guest, CulV; 113: 2. debren sanabria, CulV; 3. Thad-
ius Brown, CulV; 120: 3. Jordan Piercy, CulV: 126: 2.
Brody Piercy, CulV; 3. noel navarro, CulV; 152: 1. an-
thony hood, CulV; 4. Wyatt Corwin, CulV; 170: 2. isaiah
Toomey, CulV; 220: 2. eduardo Penaloza, CulV.
Boys Basketball
CLASS 5A INTERMOUNTAIN CONFERENCE
ALL-LEAGUE SELECTIONS
Player of the Year — Cayden lowenbach, senior, Crook
County
Coach of the Year — Jason Mumm, Crook County
First Team — Kevin sanchez, senior, Crook County;
Garrett Osborne, Junior, Redmond; skyler Jones, senior,
Redmond; Jesse sanchez, senior, Crook County; emanuel
Romero, Junior, hood River Valley.
Second Team — Ryan asplund, Junior, Ridgeview; Char-
lie Rawlins, senior, Redmond; davis yates, senior, hood
River Valley; styles deleon, sophomore, The dalles; ho-
gan smith, senior, Crook County.
Honorable Mention — Jeremiah schwartz, sophomore,
Ridgeview; Gauge Rueber, sophomore, Pendleton; Jack
siekkinen, senior, hood River Valley; Rhett haigh, senior,
Redmond; Blake swanson, senior, Pendleton.
BASKETBALL
NBA playoffs
5 p.m.
NBCSN
3 a.m.
ESPN
Listings are the most accurate available.
SPORTS BRIEFING
CONFERENCE FINALS
(Best-of-7, x-if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlanta 2, Milwaukee 1
Sunday: Milwaukee 113, atlanta 102
Tuesday: Milwaukee at atlanta, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday: atlanta at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m.
x-Saturday: Milwaukee at atlanta, 5:30 p.m.
x-July 5: atlanta at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Phoenix 3, L.A. Clippers 1
Monday: l.a. Clippers at Phoenix, late
x-Wednesday: Phoenix at l.a. Clippers, 6 p.m.
x-Friday: l.a. Clippers at Phoenix, 6 p.m.
WNBA
BASKETBALL
Mavs welcome back Kidd as coach, along with new
GM Harrison — The Dallas Mavericks welcomed back for-
mer point guard Jason Kidd as their coach Monday along
with new general manager Nico Harrison. Kidd returns to the
Mavericks nine years after backing out on an oral agreement
to re-sign in free agency for what ended up being his final sea-
son as a player in 2012-13. Kidd finished his career with the
New York Knicks. The floor leader for Dallas’ only champion-
ship in 2011 is replacing his coach from that team, Rick Carl-
isle. The winningest coach in franchise history resigned June
17, a day after general manager Donnie Nelson’s departure
was announced. The 48-year-old Kidd inherits a team with
a young superstar in point guard Luka Doncic, but without
a playoff series victory since the 2011 NBA Finals. Dallas lost
to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round for the second
consecutive season.
USA Basketball confirms Olympic roster — Experience
mattered to USA Basketball when putting together a roster for
the Tokyo Olympics. The Americans formally revealed their
roster Monday, one that will be third-oldest U.S. men’s team
in Olympic history for the Tokyo Games. The 12-man list in-
cludes five players — Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Jrue Holiday,
Damian Lillard and Draymond Green — already in their 30s.
In addition to those five players, the U.S. also has gotten com-
mitments from Bam Adebayo, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker,
Jerami Grant, Zach LaVine, Khris Middleton and Jayson
Tatum to play on the team. All those commitments became
known in recent weeks; USA Basketball, which is seeking a
fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal, merely made it offi-
cial Monday with the announcement.
HOCKEY
Bettman casts doubt on NHL players going to Beijing
Olympics — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said time is
running out to reach a deal to send players to the 2022 Winter
Olympics in Beijing, casting doubt on the league’s return to
that event after skipping it in 2018. The league, players’ union,
International Olympic Committee and International Ice
Hockey Federation continue to negotiate with the Olympics
seven months away. Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill
Daly said Monday night that the pandemic and disruption to
next season are among the concerns, along with the lack of
an agreement. “We have real concerns about whether it’s sen-
sible,” Bettman said, noting the league will go if a deal can be
reached. “We’re getting to be on a rather short timeframe.”
ACTION SPORTS
X Games going back to backyard roots in Southern
California — The X Games are going back to their roots.
Like, dude, all the way back to backyards, even. After taking
a year off because of the coronavirus pandemic, the X Games
will be staged in three Southern California locations July 14-
18. Fans won’t be allowed in. The Slayground, a private com-
pound owned by seven-time X Games medalist Axell Hodges
in Ramona, northeast of San Diego, will host Moto X Best
Trick, Best Whip, Freestyle, QuarterPipe High Air and a new
110s racing discipline. The Dreamyard, which takes up all of
Pat Casey’s backyard in Riverside, will host BMX Park, Dave
Mirra’s Park Best Trick and BMX Dirt competitions. BMX
Street and Skateboard Street, Park, Vert, Vert Best Trick and
Street Best Trick competitions will be held at the CA Training
Facility, located in an industrial park in Vista in northern San
Diego County. The CATF is the first and only high-perfor-
mance training center developed for skateboarding and has
full-sized concrete street and park courses. Among the invited
athletes are Sky Brown, Paul Rodriguez, Leticia Bufoni, Den-
nis Enarson and Jackson Strong.
—Bulletin wire reports
MEGABUCKS
The numbers drawn Monday night are:
6 15 16 18 20 44
Oregon
Lottery
results
PREP SPORTS
The estimated jackpot is now $4.7 million.
As listed at OregonLottery.org and individual lottery websites
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W
l
Connecticut
10
5
Chicago
9
8
new york
8
8
Washington
7
8
atlanta
5
9
indiana
1
15
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W
l
seattle
12
4
las Vegas
11
4
dallas
8
8
Phoenix
7
7
Minnesota
7
7
los angeles
6
8
Tuesday’s Games
Connecticut at Washington, 4 p.m.
new york at atlanta, 4 p.m.
Wednesday’s Games
Chicago at dallas, 5 p.m.
Minnesota at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
las Vegas at los angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday’s Game
Connecticut at indiana, 4 p.m.
Pct
.667
.529
.500
.467
.357
.063
GB
—
2
2½
3
4½
9½
Pct
.750
.733
.500
.500
.500
.429
GB
—
½
4
4
4
5
EAST
Boston
Tampa Bay
Toronto
new york
Baltimore
CENTRAL
Chicago
Cleveland
Minnesota
detroit
Kansas City
WEST
houston
Oakland
seattle
los angeles
Texas
EAST
new york
Washington
atlanta
Phila.
Miami
CENTRAL
Milwaukee
Chicago
Cincinnati
st. louis
Pittsburgh
W
45
42
33
34
33
L
32
33
43
45
44
W
L
48
30
47
33
41
38
38
40
30
48
NATIONAL LEAGUE
W
L
40
34
38
38
37
40
36
40
33
44
W
45
42
39
37
29
L
33
36
38
41
48
Pct
.608
.595
.526
.513
.308
GB
—
1
6½
7½
23½
Pct
.584
.560
.434
.430
.429
GB
—
2
11½
12
12
Pct
.615
.588
.519
.487
.385
GB
—
2
7½
10
18
Pct
.541
.500
.481
.474
.429
GB
—
3
4½
5
8½
Pct
.577
.538
.506
.474
.377
GB
—
3
5½
8
15½
WEST
san Francisco
los angeles
san diego
Colorado
arizona
W
L
Pct
GB
50
27
.649
—
47
31
.603
3½
47
33
.588
4½
32
47
.405
19
22
57
.278
29
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Monday’s Games
Cleveland 13, detroit 5
l.a. angels 5, n.y. yankees 3
Boston 6, Kansas City 5
Baltimore at houston, late
Minnesota at Chicago White sox, ppd.
Tuesday’s Games
l.a. angels (heaney 4-5) at n.y. yankees (Taillon 2-4),
4:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (hill 6-2) at Washington (Ross 4-7), 4:05 p.m.
seattle (Flexen 6-3) at Toronto (Ray 5-3), 4:07 p.m.
detroit (ureña 2-8) at Cleveland (Mejía 1-2), 4:10 p.m.
Kansas City (Keller 6-8) at Boston (Pivetta 6-3), 4:10 p.m.
Baltimore (TBd) at houston (urquidy 6-3), 5:10 p.m.
Minnesota (Maeda 3-2) at Chicago White sox (Giolito
5-5), 5:10 p.m.
Texas (Foltynewicz 1-7) at Oakland (Kaprielian 4-1),
6:40 p.m.
Wednesday’s Games
Tampa Bay at Washington, 1:05 p.m.
l.a. angels at n.y. yankees, 4:05 p.m.
seattle at Toronto, 4:07 p.m.
detroit at Cleveland, 4:10 p.m.
Kansas City at Boston, 4:10 p.m.
Baltimore at houston, 5:10 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago White sox, 5:10 p.m.
Texas at Oakland, 6:40 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Monday’s Games
Colorado 2, Pittsburgh 0
Cincinnati 12, Phila. 4
Washington 8, n.y. Mets 4
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, late
arizona at st. louis, late
san Francisco at l.a. dodgers, late
Tuesday’s Games
Miami (Rogers 7-4) at Phila. (Velsqez 2-2), 4:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (hill 6-2) at Washington (Ross 4-7), 4:05 p.m.
san diego (snell 3-3) at Cincinnati (santillan 1-1), 4:10 p.m.
n.y. Mets (Megill 0-0) at atlanta (Morton 7-3), 4:20 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (davies 5-4) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 6-3),
5:10 p.m.
arizona (smith 2-3) at st. louis (Martínez 3-9), 5:15 p.m.
Pittsburgh (de Jong 0-2) at Colorado (Márquez 6-6), 5:40 p.m.
san Francisco (Gausman 8-1) at l.a. dodgers (Buehler
7-1), 7:10 p.m.
Wednesday’s Games
arizona at st. louis, 10:15 a.m.
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee, 11:10 a.m.
Pittsburgh at Colorado, 12:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Washington, 1:05 p.m.
Miami at Phila., 4:05 p.m.
san diego at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m.
n.y. Mets at atlanta, 4:20 p.m.
TENNIS
Wimbledon
College World Series
In Omaha, Neb.
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
(Best-of-3; x-if necessary)
Vanderbilt 1, Mississippi St. 0
Monday: no. 4 Vanderbilt 8, no. 7 Mississippi st. 2
Tuesday: no. 4 Vanderbilt vs. no. 7 Mississippi st., 4 p.m.
x-Wednesday: no. 4 Vanderbilt vs. no. 7 Mississippi
st., 4 p.m.
HOCKEY
NHL playoffs
STANLEY CUP FINALS
(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)
Tampa Bay 1, Montreal 0
Monday: Tampa Bay, 5, Montreal 1
Wednesday: Montreal at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
Friday: Tampa Bay at Montreal, 5 p.m.
Monday, July 5: Tampa Bay at Montreal, 5 p.m.
x-Wednesday, July 7: Montreal at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
x-Friday, July 9: Tampa Bay at Montreal, 5 p.m.
x-Sunday, July 11: Montreal at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m.
SOCCER
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
new england
7 2 2 23 18 13
Orlando City
6 1 3 21 18
7
Phila.
5 2 4 19 15 10
ny City FC
5 3 2 17 18 11
Columbus
4 3 3 15
9
7
nashville
3 1 6 15 13 11
new york
4 5 1 13 14 13
d.C. united
4 6 1 13 10 13
CF Montréal
3 3 4 13 11 10
atlanta
2 2 6 12 11 10
Cincinnati
3 5 1 10
9 17
inter Miami CF
2 6 2
8
9 16
Toronto FC
1 7 2
5 12 20
Chicago
1 7 2
5
7 17
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
seattle
7 0 4 25 20
7
sporting KC
7 3 2 23 22 15
la Galaxy
7 3 0 21 17 15
Colorado
5 3 1 16 15 11
Minnesota united 4 4 2 14 10 12
houston
3 3 5 14 15 16
Portland
4 5 1 13 13 15
Real sl
3 2 4 13 14 11
la FC
3 4 3 12 12 12
san Jose
3 7 1 10 12 20
FC dallas
2 4 4 10 11 15
austin FC
2 5 4 10
6 11
Vancouver
2 6 2
8 10 16
nOTe: Three points for victory, one point for tie.
Sunday’s Games
new york 0, atlanta 0, tie
ny City FC 2, d.C. united 1
Columbus 0, austin FC 0, tie
FC dallas 2, new england 1
Thursday’s Game
Portland at austin FC, 6:30 p.m.
NWSL
Orlando
north Carolina
Portland
Washington
Gotham FC
louisville
houston
Chicago
Reign FC
Kansas City
W
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
0
L
1
2
3
1
1
3
3
4
4
6
T
3
1
0
3
2
1
1
2
1
2
Pts
15
13
12
12
11
10
10
8
7
2
GF
12
12
12
8
6
6
8
5
5
4
GA
8
4
6
7
2
10
8
13
8
12
nOTe: Three points for victory, one point for tie.
Monday at All England Lawn Tennis
and Croquet Club, London
Surface: Grass
MEN’S SINGLES
First Round
novak djokovic (1), serbia, def. Jack draper, Britain, 4-6,
6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Frances Tiafoe, united states, def. stefanos Tsitsipas (3),
Greece, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Jiri Vesely, Czech Republic, def. yannick hanfmann,
Germany, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
Miomir Kecmanovic, serbia, def. Facundo Bagnis, ar-
gentina, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1).
Kevin anderson, south africa, def. Marcelo Tomas Bar-
rios Vera, Chile, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Roberto Bautista agut (8), spain, def. John Millman,
australia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
andreas seppi, italy, def. Joao sousa, Portugal, 4-6, 6-4,
7-5, 6-2.
Marton Fucsovics, hungary, def. Jannik sinner (19), it-
aly, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.
andrey Rublev (5), Russia, def. Federico delbonis, ar-
gentina, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
denis Kudla, united states, def. alejandro davidovich
Fokina (30), spain, 5-7, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-3.
dominik Koepfer, Germany, def. Reilly Opelka (27),
united states, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Karen Khachanov (25), Russia, def. Mackenzie Mcdon-
ald, united states, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Vasek Pospisil, Canada, def. Roberto Carballes Baena,
spain, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
liam Broady, Britain, def. Marco Cecchinato, italy, 6-3,
6-4, 6-0.
Pedro Martinez, spain, def. stefano Travaglia, italy, 6-3,
2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
andy Murray, Britain, def. nikoloz Basilashvili (24),
Georgia, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
First Round
aryna sabalenka (2), Belarus, def. Monica niculescu,
Romania, 6-1, 6-4.
Garbine Muguruza (11), spain, def. Fiona Ferro, France,
6-0, 6-1.
lauren davis, united states, def. Jodie anna Burrage,
Britain, 6-2, 6-1.
Madison Keys (23), united states, def. Katie swan, Brit-
ain, 6-3, 6-4.
ekaterina alexandrova (32), Russia, def. laura siege-
mund, Germany, 6-1, 6-3.
lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, netherlands, def. svetlana
Kuznetsova, Russia, 6-3, 6-3.
Maria Camila Osorio serrano, Colombia, def. anna Ka-
linskaya, Russia, 1-6, 6-0, 6-4.
sloane stephens, united states, def. Petra Kvitova (10),
Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4.
danielle Collins, united states, def. Polona hercog, slo-
venia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
sofia Kenin (4), united states, def. Xinyu Wang, China,
6-4, 6-2.
Katie Boulter, Britain, def. danielle lao, united states,
6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4.
Viktorija Golubic, switzerland, def. Veronika Kuder-
metova (29), Russia, 3-6, 6-1, 11-9.
iga swiatek (7), Poland, def. hsieh su-wei, Taiwan, 6-4,
6-4.
irina-Camelia Begu, Romania, def. Katie Volynets, unit-
ed states, 6-4, 7-5.
elena Rybakina (18), Kazakhstan, def. Kristina Mlade-
novic, France, 6-4, 6-0.
Kristie ahn, united states, def. heather Watson, Britain,
2-6, 7-6 (3), 8-6.
DEALS
Monday’s Transactions
BASKETBALL
Women’s National Basketball Association
WashinGTOn MysTiCs — Waived F Megan Gustafson,
Gs stella Johnson and Kiara leslie.
FOOTBALL
Canadian Football League
sasKeTCheWan ROuGhRideRs — signed QB Paxton
lynch
SOCCER
Major League Soccer
nashVille sC — extended contract of F Johnder Ca-
diz through 2021.
NBA PLAYOFFS | EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Two-time MVP gladly cedes lead role
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
ATLANTA — Giannis Ante-
tokounmpo is a two-time MVP,
one of the best players on the
planet.
Even so, he’ll gladly cede the
closer’s role to Khris Middle-
ton in the Eastern Conference
finals.
With Middleton taking com-
mand in the final minutes,
the Milwaukee Bucks are now
up 2-1 on the Atlanta Hawks
heading to Game 4 of the series
Tuesday night.
“We were like, ‘Get the hell
out of the way, give him the
ball, take us home, Khris,’ and
that’s what he did,” Antetok-
ounmpo said. “I trust this guy
to death. If he wants the ball,
he gets it. Simple as that. He’s
knocking down shots.”
Middleton scored 20 of his
playoff career high-tying 38
points in the fourth quarter of
Game 3, rallying the Bucks to
a 113-102 victory that restored
the home-court edge they
lost to the Hawks in the series
opener at Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo wasn’t the
least bit hesitant about stepping
aside for Middleton in the big-
gest minutes of the series so far.
“Doesn’t matter who is the
first guy. Does not matter,” An-
tetokounmpo said. “I want to
be a winner. I have the whole
game to be the guy. I don’t care
about being the guy in the
fourth quarter.”
While the Bucks appear to
have several players who can
carry them to the NBA Finals
— don’t forget Jrue Holiday —
the Hawks rely on one player
above all others.
And he’s hurting.
Trae Young twisted his right
ankle in a freak accident Sun-
day night, stepping on a refer-
ee’s foot along the sideline in
the final minute of the third
quarter.
He underwent an MRI on
Monday, which showed a bone
Brynn Anderson/AP photo
Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) shoots against Atlanta
Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the second half of Game
3 of the NBA Eastern Conference basketball finals on Sunday in Atlanta.
bruise. He was listed as ques-
tionable for Game 4.
It’s hard to envision the up-
start Hawks pulling off another
playoff upset without a player
who’s been one of the breakout
stars of the postseason.
Young is averaging 29.8
points in the playoffs, including
35 in Game 3 even though he
made only one basket after be-
ing injured.
“He’s the head of our snake,”
teammate John Collins said.
“That’s the last thing anyone
who’s a Hawks’ supporter wants
see is that dude coming down
with any knick-knack or what-
ever it is. ... You hate to see it.
I’m just hoping and praying he’s
gonna be OK.”
Young was able to return
to the court with just under
9 minutes remaining and the
Hawks nursing a five-point
lead. But he was limping no-
ticeably and grimacing in pain
every time he dribbled up the
court.
Lacking his trademark explo-
siveness, which creates so many
opportunities for the Hawks’
offense, Young hit only one bas-
ket the rest of the game. Mid-
dleton and the Bucks outscored
Atlanta 25-9 to win going away.
“It was really my blow-by
speed,” Young said. “That’s a big
part of my game, my ability to
blow by anybody.”
If Young can’t go in Game 4,
or can only play limited min-
utes without his usual effec-
tiveness, the Hawks will have
to rely on a team effort to com-
pensate.
That means Lou Williams
playing a bigger role, Collins
staying out of foul trouble, and
Bogdan Bogdanovic being
much more effective than he
has been so far in the playoffs.
Bogdanovic, who was Atlan-
ta’s biggest free agent signing
during the last offseason, has
been the most glaring disap-
pointment of the surprising
postseason run by the confer-
ence’s No. 5 seed.
Bothered by a sore knee,
Bogdanovic is averaging just
12.3 points in the playoffs and
has gone six straight games
without reaching double fig-
ures. He was awful in Game 3,
making just 3 of 16 shots to fin-
ish with eight points.
“His shot has not fallen for
him, but he’s a guy who I be-
lieve that next shot is going
down,” coach Nate McMillan
said. “He had some wide-open
looks that I’m willing to trust
that he’s going to knock those
shots down. It just isn’t falling
for him. It hasn’t fallen for him
this whole series.”
While the Hawks might need
someone other than Young to
play a leading role on offense,
they’re faced with an equally
perplexing predicament at the
defensive end: Stopping Mil-
waukee’s Big Three.
Antetokounmpo is averaging
30.7 points per game in this se-
ries, Middleton 22.7 and Holi-
day 20.3
The Hawks could sure use
De’Andre Hunter, one of their
best defensive players, but he’s
out for the rest of the season af-
ter undergoing knee surgery.
Also, the Hawks made things
even easier for the Bucks by
settling for too many contested
shots early in the shot clock,
giving Milwaukee a chance to
turn misses into easy transition
baskets at the opposite end.
McMillan acknowledged the
difficulty in shutting down —
or at least creating more issues
— for Milwaukee’s big scorers.
“It’s really a three-headed
monster over there with An-
tetokounmpo as well as Khris
and Jrue,” the Hawks coach
said. “All of those guys are iso-
lation players. They do a good
job of spacing the floor. If you
are committing to the ball, then
they are more than happy to
shoot the 3 ball.”
Especially Middleton, who
went 6 of 12 from beyond the
arc in Game 3.
“When a guy gets hot like
that, you’d like to basically run
a guy at him,” McMillan said.
“Before we could even get a guy
on him, he had released it. He
was really scoring from every-
where.”
The two-time MVP was glad
to keep feeding Middleton the
ball.
“For me, it was greatness,”
Antetokounmpo said. “Simple
as that.”