The No. 5 seed Hawks fell into an early 20-point hole and couldn’t sustain enough of a rhythm or get enough stops to climb out of it, losing Game 5 to the No. 3 seed Bucks, 123-112, Thursday in Milwaukee.
Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 33 points as Milwaukee pounded Atlanta in the paint, 66-36.
The Bucks take a 3-2 lead in the series, and the Hawks will try to force a Game 7. Game 6 will be at 8:30 p.m. Saturday back in Atlanta, at State Farm Arena.
“What I said to our guys before the game, the team that has been the more aggressive team to start the game has won every game in this series,” Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan said. “This was a very similar game to the game that we played here, where they came out very aggressive after losing their game. We came out aggressive after dropping a game at home and a very similar game.
“We knew that they were going to come with that sense of urgency tonight. They were going to continue to attack even without Giannis (Antetokounmpo) in the lineup. That’s just how they play. We knew that they would look to go to Lopez more, and they did. They just dominated the paint tonight.”
The Hawks played without Trae Young, who missed his second straight game due to a right foot bone bruise he sustained in Game 3. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks in scoring with 28 points, making a playoff-high seven 3′s.
The Bucks were missing Antetokounmpo, who hyperextended his left knee in Game 4.
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