Bucks @ Hawks Game 3 Predictions: Take the points with the Hawks at home

After Milwaukee pummeled Atlanta in Game 2, see what our expert predicts as the series heads to Atlanta...

To say the Milwaukee Bucks crushed the Atlanta Hawks Friday night would be an insult to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The first quarter wasn’t that bad, as the Hawks trailed by just six. Trae Young started 3-for-5 shooting with eight points and it appeared Danilo Gallinari was going to have a nice game, as he started 3-for-3 from the field.

But that changed in the second quarter. Young wasn’t able to get some of those foul calls he got back in the Philly series and had just five points in the quarter to go with five turnovers. As a team, they shot just 33 percent for the quarter.

On the other end, Jrue Holiday went right at Young and had profound success. He scored 14 points in eight minutes on the court and was 6-for-7 shooting including a made three.

The rest of the Bucks seemingly couldn’t miss either, as Giannis Antetokounmpo was 3-for-4 for eight points and Brook Lopez was 3-for-3 from the field including a three. He was 5-for-5 shooting going into halftime. While he scored just four points in the quarter, Khris Middleton played an integral roll, dishing out six assists in just the second.

In the second quarter alone, the Bucks shot 78 percent from the field.

The series now moves back to Atlanta for Game 3 and Game 4.

I wouldn’t read too much into Atlanta’s one bad quarter that happened to match up perfectly with Milwaukee’s best quarter of these playoffs. The Hawks did what they set out to do; steal a game on the road. That’s what they did in the Philly series and even though the series is tied at one, you have to think Atlanta likes where they’re at right now.

The Bucks are currently a 4.5-point favorite heading into Game 3 with the total set at 224.

I don’t think Young has that bad of a game again. Now back in Atlanta, I’m sure we’ll see him get some of those foul calls that they didn’t call much in Milwaukee. I think he finishes closer to 28-30 points than having a game with just 15 points again.

Despite being listed as questionable, I think Bogdan Bogdanovic has more of an impact at home tonight. He shot 3-for-6 Friday night, but played just 18 minutes, as that right knee seems to still be bothering him. Once the game as officially out of hand, Hawks head coach Nate McMillan made the right choice by sitting Bogdanovic the rest of the game.

Atlanta had the third-best cover percentage at home this season, going 26-15. I think this game comes down to the wire and will gladly take the 4.5 points as the home team.

For our prop of the night, I’ll take Bogdanovic over 9.5 points. The Hawks can’t rely on Young and Kevin Huerter to do the bulk of the scoring for the entire series, and I think we see an uptick in shots tonight for Boganovic at home. You can get this prop at -110 at BetMGM and PointsBet, and -106 at 888Sport, BetRivers and Unibet.