Banged-up Hawks Big Home Dogs in Game 4

Two straight losses and an injury to Trae Young has suddenly put the Hawks’ surprising playoff run in jeopardy. Atlanta (50-37 SU, 48-38-1) tries to square up the series when it hosts Game 4 against Milwaukee (56-30, 40-46) which has won 14 of the last 17 meetings and opened as six-point road favorites.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Oddsmakers don’t like the Hawks’ chances of tying the series, Sportsbook Atlanta as six-point underdogs on its home court. That line has moved to +7 by the time of writing, while the total had dropped to 219 from an opener of 223.5.

Milwaukee News & Notes

After scoring just 15 points in each of the first two games of the series, Khris Middleton busted out for a game-high 38 on Sunday — more than half of them coming in the fourth quarter. Middleton scored 15 of Milwaukee’s 19 points during one stretch in the final frame and became the first Buck in 25 years to score 20 points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.

Middleton also joined Giannis Antetokounmpo as the first teammates in NBA history to score at least 30 points and pull down 10 rebounds three times each in the same postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Antetokounmpo cracked the 30-point, 10-rebound plateau for the ninth time in these playoffs on Sunday, collecting 33 and 11 in spite of a calf injury he suffered in Game 2.

The Bucks showed some resilience Sunday that we haven’t seen from them in past playoffs, digging their way out of an early 25-10 hole. Milwaukee trimmed Atlanta’s lead to five points by the end of the first quarter and entered halftime tied 56-56, then held the Hawks to just 17 fourth-quarter points to pull away.

Atlanta News & Notes

At the time of writing, Young’s status for Game 4 was questionable due to the bone bruise in his right foot that he suffered on Sunday. Atlanta’s superstar point guard was enjoying another fine performance before landing on an official’s foot late in the third quarter, scoring 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting and committing just three turnovers, but he scored just three points after returning in the fourth.

Young’s injury is more bad news for an Atlanta back court that was already banged up. Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has been dealing with right knee soreness since late in the second round, hasn’t scored more than eight points in any of his last six games and was 3-for-16 from the field on Sunday. Forward Cam Reddish could see action at guard but is on a minutes limit after returning from an Achilles injury, leaving Lou Williams and Kevin Huerter as the Hawks’ best healthy options to play guard.

Still, it’d be dangerous to completely write off the Hawks, especially at home where they’ve won 14 of their last 17 games and are 20-7 ATS in their last 27. In order to even the series on Tuesday, Atlanta will likely have to rely on its defense, something that has carried the Hawks to much of their playoff success. The Hawks have gone UNDER the total in six of their last seven games overall and seven of their last nine at State Farm Arena.

Betting Pick: UNDER 219

Without Young at full strength, expect the Hawks to slow down the pace in an effort to keep things close.