It’s probably time to take the Atlanta Hawks for real. After the Hawks upset the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their second-round series, they pulled off an even bigger upset to take down the Milwaukee Bucks with a Game 1 road victory in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Trae Young went off for 48 points to lead the Hawks — an eight-point underdog — to a 116-113 win over the Bucks in Game 1.
The third-year guard made 17-of-34 shots from the field, went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe, dished out 11 assists, and pulled down seven rebounds.
“Our confidence never goes away.”@TheTraeYoung spoke with @StephanieReady after Atlanta’s Game 1 win #ECFonTNT pic.twitter.com/kJcU7UbDeI
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 24, 2021
It was a back-and-forth game, and the Bucks even led by seven entering the final four minutes. The Hawks came back to take the lead when Clint Capela made a bucket with 29.8 seconds remaining, and Atlanta wouldn’t trail again.
It’s Atlanta’s first conference finals victory in franchise history. They now have a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, but getting at least one road victory ahead of four remaining home games (if necessary) has already made the trip to Milwaukee a success for the Hawks.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.