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The big storyline entering Game 4 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks is the status of Hawks star guard Trae Young, who injured his ankle/foot in Game 3. He surely will play if at all possible, but likely not be 100 percent and the Hawks are solid home underdogs on the NBA odds.

How to Bet Bucks at Hawks NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Tuesday, 8:30 PM ET
Where: State Farm Arena
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio:com
NBA Odds: Bucks -7 (total 221)

Why Bet on Milwaukee?

The Bucks were largely outplayed for three quarters of Game 3 but outscored Atlanta 30-17 in the fourth to win 113-102 and take a 2-1 series lead.

Khris Middleton had one of the games of his All-Star career with K a playoff career-high tying 38 points (20 in the fourth quarter) with 11 rebounds, seven assists and six three-pointers in 42 minutes. He became first Bucks player with at least 20 points in a fourth quarter of a playoff game over the last 25 seasons. Middleton had scored just 30 total points on a 12-of-36 (33.3%) mark from the field in his first two games vs. Atlanta.

He outscored the Hawks by himself in the fourth by a 20-17 advantage. In a span of barely four minutes, from 7:12 down to 3:08, Middleton sank three 3-pointers, a pair of mid-range jumpers and one driving layup to put his team up 107-100. He had 15 of the Bucks’ points in that 19-5 stretch.

“What I saw today was unbelievable,” Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “It was freaking unbelievable. He carried the team at the end. We were like, get the hell out the way, give him the ball. ‘Take us home, Khris’ — and that’s what he did.”

Middleton’s shooting has been inconsistent at times in the 2021 postseason. He shot under 50% in eight out of 10 games since the start of the Bucks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against Brooklyn.

Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. The Freak came into the game under a slight injury cloud but certainly showed no ill-effects. It was his 13th double-double in 14 postseason games and overall in these playoffs the two-time-MVP is averaging 29.2 points, 13.0 boards, 5.4 assists, 1.0 steal and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 54.6 percent from the floor. Giannis and Middleton became the first pair of teammates to both record 30 points and 10 boards in three games of a single postseason.

Bobby Portis was big off the bench with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting and four rebounds in 17 minutes. Portis was a DNP-CD in the final three games of the Brooklyn series in Round 2, but he’s now back in the rotation. His 12 field-goal attempts were his most in any game since May 7.

Why Bet on Atlanta?

The Hawks led by as many as 15 points in Game 3 but their chances of winning essentially ended when star Trae Young injured his ankle/foot on a fluke play. Late in the third quarter, Young was injured after he threw a pass that was deflected by Jrue Holiday. The Hawks guard turned to run back on defense, only to step on the foot of ref Sean Wright, who was standing just out of bounds. Young would go to the locker room and eventually return but had just three points after the injury compared to 32 before.

“Really just my blow-by speed,” Young said about how the injury affected his game. “I mean, that’s a big part of my game, is my ability just to blow by anybody. And when you’re on the left side and you’re trying to blow by, you got to use your right foot.”

An MRI on Monday revealed a bone bruise in Young’s right foot. The diagnosis changed as the Hawks said it was an ankle issue on Sunday. Young will be listed as questionable but almost surely will play. That said, Young being compromised even a little would be a big blow to the Hawks’ series chances.

While Young finished with 35 points, no other Hawks player had more than 18. That’s how many Danilo Gallinari totaled along with four rebounds in 36 minutes. Gallinari stepped up on the offensive end, turning in one of his better games this postseason. His clutch shooting kept the Hawks close. John Collins picked up his fourth foul in the first minute of the second half Sunday so Gallinari got more minutes. Collins saw only 23 minutes.

“(Gallinari) gave us a big lift,” Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan said. “They’re doing a lot of switching out there and giving us matchups on the post with John and Gallo and those guys have been able to win their matchups down there. We need to be a little bit more patient and go to those matchups a little more.”

Kevin Huerter finished the game with 11 points, 7 assists and 3 blocks. For the entirety of the playoffs, Huerter now ranks sixth with 15 total blocks. Every other player ranked in the top seven spots of the blocks leaderboard is 6-foot-10 or taller.

Lou Williams had just five points off the bench. Bogdan Bogdanovic compiled just eight points on 3-for1-6 shooting in 35 minutes. Bogdanovic continues to struggle as he deals with an ongoing knee injury. A positive to come out of the game was the fact he played 35 minutes, well up from his average of just 22.5 minutes across the first two games.

Game Trends

Bucks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Bucks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Bucks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Hawks are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Hawks are 15-7 ATS in their last 22 games playing on 1 days rest.
Bucks are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.