Milwaukee Bucks defeat Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 behind Khris Middleton’s dominant fourth quarter

Khris Middleton (22) and Jrue Holiday celebrate the Bucks' Game 3 win over the Hawks.

Atlanta Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan wasn’t worried about Trae Young following Young’s Game 2 dud.

“Trae is going to be fine,” McMillan said about 100 minutes before Game 3 on Sunday.

Actually, Young was more than fine.

Until he wasn’t.

Through nearly three quarters, Young had 32 points, but after he turned the ball over with 36 seconds left in the third quarter, he turned his ankle while stepping on referee Sean Wright’s foot. Young checked out of the game, headed to the locker room and returned to the bench early in the fourth quarter.

Young checked back in with 8:44 left in the game, and even though he made a 3-pointer, he wasn’t 100% with Lou Williams handling some of the point guard duties.

Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton took over in the fourth quarter.

He scored 20 of his playoff career-high 38 points in the fourth as the Bucks defeated the Hawks 113-102 in Game 3. Middleton scored 11 points during a two-minute stretch in which Milwaukee erased a seven-point deficit and took a 101-98 lead.

 

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