Milwaukee Bucks vs Atlanta Hawks Match Player Stats: Middleton’s 32 Points Lead Bucks to Eastern Conference Finals Clincher

Missing your two-time MVP in a win-or-go-home moment usually spells trouble. The Milwaukee Bucks vs Atlanta Hawks Game 6 matchup on July 3, 2021 tested exactly that scenario, with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined by a knee injury. Milwaukee’s response was a 118-107 road win built on Khris Middleton’s scoring outburst and a suffocating third quarter that buried Atlanta’s hopes of forcing a Game 7.

The Lead

The Milwaukee Bucks closed out the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference Finals on July 3, 2021, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 118-107 at State Farm Arena in front of 16,620 fans. Milwaukee advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974 as the victory sealed the series 4-2. Broadcast nationally on TNT, this milwaukee bucks vs atlanta hawks match player stats breakdown centers on a game the Bucks controlled almost entirely without their franchise cornerstone.

Khris Middleton carried Milwaukee’s offense with 32 points, capped by a stretch of 16 unanswered points during a decisive third quarter that turned a tight game into a rout. Jrue Holiday backed him up with 27 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, while four other Bucks scored in double figures. Cam Reddish scored 21 points for Atlanta, while Bogdan scored 20. Bogdanovic, but the Hawks’ poor first half—they shot only 30.6% before halftime—put them in a difficult situation from which they were never able to recover.

Match Overview Table

Core Match Statistics Overview

Anyone searching milwaukee bucks vs atlanta hawks stats from this series will find Game 6 is a clean case study in how shooting efficiency, not raw shot volume, decided the outcome.

Field Goal Efficiency

• The Bucks shot nearly five points better from the field despite Atlanta actually attempting more shots, a sign that Milwaukee’s half-court offense generated cleaner looks all night.
• Atlanta’s cold start — 15-of-49 shooting in the first half — meant the Hawks were playing catch-up before the third quarter even began.

Three Point Shooting

• Both teams finished within half a percentage point of each other from beyond the arc, but Milwaukee’s higher volume of makes (17 to 12) padded a lead Atlanta could never fully erase.
• Cam Reddish alone hit six of Atlanta’s twelve threes, meaning the rest of the Hawks roster combined for just six made triples on the night.

Free Throw Reliability

• Milwaukee’s 90.5% clip at the line meant nearly every trip to the stripe turned into points, a small but real margin in a game decided by 11.
• Atlanta’s free throw percentage dipped under 83%, a minor but costly gap in a contest this tight for three quarters.

Rebounding and Ball Security

• The Bucks out-rebounded Atlanta 46-43 even while missing their top rebounder in Antetokounmpo, a credit to Bobby Portis and Jrue Holiday crashing the glass.
• Milwaukee also protected the ball better, committing 15 turnovers to Atlanta’s 16, denying the Hawks extra transition chances they badly needed.

Period-by-Period Analysis

• First Quarter: Atlanta hung with Milwaukee early, trailing by only four, but the Bucks’ role players were already finding a rhythm without Antetokounmpo on the floor.
• Second Quarter: An even 19-19 frame kept the game within reach for Atlanta at halftime, with Milwaukee holding a 47-43 edge heading into the break.
• Third Quarter: This period decided the game. Middleton’s personal 16-0 run helped fuel a 44-point explosion that buried the Hawks, whose defense simply had no answer for Milwaukee’s off-the-dribble scoring.
• Fourth Quarter: Atlanta actually won the final period 35-27, a hollow victory once the deficit built in the third quarter proved too large to overcome, closing out this milwaukee bucks vs atlanta hawks series.

Milwaukee Bucks Player Statistics

Khris Middleton — 32 points (10-22 FG, 4-10 3PT, 8-8 FT), 7 assists Middleton was the best player on the floor for either team, torching Atlanta with a third-quarter surge that took the air out of State Farm Arena. His perfect night from the free throw line reflected a player fully in control of the game’s tempo.

Jrue Holiday — 27 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 turnovers Holiday nearly posted a triple-double, running Milwaukee’s offense while also crashing the boards in Antetokounmpo’s absence. His two-way pressure on Trae Young helped hold Atlanta’s star point guard to a quiet scoring night.

Bobby Portis — 12 points, 9 rebounds Filling in as a starter for the second straight game, Portis provided physical rebounding and hustle plays that helped Milwaukee win the battle of the boards despite missing its best big man.

Pat Connaughton — 13 points, 8 rebounds Connaughton’s energy off the bench gave Milwaukee extra scoring punch and rebounding depth, exactly the kind of complementary production the Bucks needed with their star forward sidelined.

Atlanta Hawks Player Statistics

Cam Reddish — 21 points (7-12 FG, 6-7 3PT), 3 rebounds Reddish was Atlanta’s most efficient scorer, catching fire from three-point range, but his hot shooting alone couldn’t offset the team’s slow start and third-quarter defensive collapse.

Bogdan Bogdanovic — 20 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals Bogdanovic gave the Hawks a scoring spark off the bench and was active defensively, but Atlanta needed more consistent secondary scoring throughout the game to stay competitive.

Trae Young — 14 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists Returning from a foot injury that kept him out of the previous two games, Young distributed the ball well but never found his usual scoring rhythm against Milwaukee’s defense.

John Collins — 11 rebounds Collins anchored the glass for Atlanta, pulling down 11 boards, but the Hawks’ interior presence wasn’t enough to offset their perimeter shooting struggles in the first half.

Statistical Leaders Summary Table

Why the Bucks Won

Star Power Without Giannis

Milwaukee proved it could win a closeout game without its MVP-caliber forward, leaning on Middleton and Holiday to combine for 59 points and produce exactly the kind of two-star punch a depleted roster needs in a must-win game.

The Third Quarter Explosion

A 44-point third quarter, anchored by Middleton’s personal run, flipped a competitive game into a rout the Hawks never threatened again.

Bench and Role-Player Production

• Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and Jeff Teague combined for over 35 points and double-digit rebounds off the bench, giving Milwaukee scoring depth Atlanta’s rotation couldn’t match.
• That depth mattered even more given Antetokounmpo’s absence, spreading scoring responsibility across five or six contributors instead of relying on one star.

Why the Hawks Lost

A Poor Shooting First Half

Atlanta shot just 30.6% from the field in the first half, including 4-of-16 from three, digging a hole that even a stronger fourth-quarter push couldn’t fully climb out of.

Heavy Dependence on Two Scorers

Reddish and Bogdanovic combined for 41 of Atlanta’s 107 points, but the rest of the roster — including a quiet night from Kevin Huerter, who finished just 2-of-10 from the field — failed to provide consistent secondary scoring.

Historical Context & Advanced Insights

Series Breakdown

This milwaukee bucks vs atlanta hawks 2021 series swung back and forth through the first four games before Milwaukee won the final two to close it out 4-2, a fitting cap to a milwaukee bucks vs atlanta hawks matches sequence full of momentum shifts.

Advanced Statistical Insights

Milwaukee’s assist numbers stayed strong across its four wins in the series, a pattern that held in Game 6 with Holiday and Middleton combining for 16 assists between them. Ball movement translated directly into higher shooting efficiency — the Bucks’ 46.1% field goal mark in the closeout game was their best of any contest in the series aside from their blowout Game 2 win. Atlanta’s turnover rate, by contrast, hovered around 16-18 per game for most of the series, consistently gifting Milwaukee extra offensive possessions that widened margins in the second half of games.

Game Implications & Key Lessons

What This Means for the Bucks

• Milwaukee proved it has scoring depth beyond Antetokounmpo, a confidence booster heading into the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns.
• The win validated the Jrue Holiday trade, with Holiday delivering a near triple-double in the biggest game of the season to that point.

What This Means for the Hawks

• Atlanta’s young core showed it belongs in the postseason spotlight but needs more consistent scoring depth beyond its top two or three options.
• Slow starts, like the 30.6% first-half shooting in Game 6, need fixing before the Hawks can compete deeper into future playoff runs.

Key Lessons

• Depth wins playoff series, not just star power — Milwaukee’s bench outscored Atlanta’s in the closeout game.
• A single dominant quarter can decide a game more than four even ones.
• Free throw reliability matters in close contests; small percentage gaps add up.
• Turnovers directly translate into points against a well-organized defense.
• Role players stepping up in a star’s absence can define a team’s identity.
• Shooting efficiency, not shot volume, is often the better predictor of who wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the Milwaukee Bucks vs Atlanta Hawks Game 6 matchup?

The Milwaukee Bucks won 118-107, clinching the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals series 4-2.

Who scored the most points in the game?

Khris Middleton led all scorers with 32 points on 10-of-22 shooting.

Did Giannis Antetokounmpo play in this game?

No, Antetokounmpo missed the game with a hyperextended left knee, his second straight absence in the series.

What were Jrue Holiday’s stats in this game?

Holiday finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Where can fans find the milwaukee bucks vs atlanta hawks highlights from this series?

Full game recaps, box scores, and highlight packages from this series are available through NBA.com and major sports broadcast archives.

What was the attendance for this game?

State Farm Arena hosted 16,620 fans for the series-clinching contest.

Conclusion

Game 6 showed that efficient shooting and shared scoring responsibility can outweigh a missing superstar. Milwaukee’s balanced attack, led by Middleton’s 32 points and Holiday’s near triple-double, overcame a talented but top-heavy Atlanta roster that couldn’t survive a rough shooting start. 

The result sent the Bucks to their first NBA Finals appearance in nearly five decades and offered a blueprint for how depth and third-quarter execution can decide a series.