AP Photo/Aaron GashAfter beating the Atlanta Hawks 123-112 in Game 5, of their Eastern Conference Finals series at Fiserv Forum, the Milwaukee Bucks are now one win away from the NBA Finals.Both teams were without their top players. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP and Bucks forward, was unable to play due to left knee hyperextension that he sustained during Game 4 in this series.Hawks point guard Trae Young, 2019-20 All-Star, was unable to play his second consecutive game due to a bone bruise in the right foot.Antetokounmpo was absent from Four Bucks, and the players of Four Bucks scored 22 points or more.Brook Lopez was the star of the show, scoring 33 points on 14-of-18 shots and dominating defensively with four blocked shots and two steals. His dunk capped a 20-5 run in the first quarter to give the Bucks a 30-10 lead.Six assists were made by Jrue Holiday in a dominant quarter that saw Milwaukee leading 36-22. He finished the game with 25 points and 13 dimes.Khris Middleton had a nearly triple double, scoring 26 points, 13 boards, eight assists and eight boards. Bobby Portis was next with 22 points and eight boards, rounding out the top four scorers for the Bucks.Atlanta held on and cut the Bucks' lead at 65-59 in the second period, but Milwaukee held its ground and led by double figures for the whole fourth quarter.Bogdan Bogdan Bogdanovic was the leader of four Hawks that scored double figures with 28 points. He also made seven three-pointers.Atlanta leads Milwaukee by three games in the best of seven series.Notable PerformancesBucks F Khris Midton: 26 Points, 13 rebounds and 8 assistsBucks PG Jrue Holiday - 25 points, 13 assists and 6 reboundsBucks C Brook Lopez: 33 Points, 7 Rebounds, 4 Blocks, 2 StealsBucks PF Bobby Portis 22 points, 8 rebound, 3 stealsHawks SG Bogdan Bogdanovic 28 points, 5 reboundsHawks PF John Collins: 18 points, 8 reboundsHawks F Danilo Galinari: 19 pointsLopez sets the tone for Bucks in Game 5 winLopez played an important role in both the Bucks' early dominance and their subsequent 11-point win.With a block that led directly to a Holiday bucket at the other end, the big man set the tone.The quarter ended with more of the same, as a Lopez steal led the way to a Portis fast break dunk.Holiday-Lopez continued to work, and the big man added another dunk for Milwaukee.Lopez took a Holiday card and brought home the exclamation point for the Bucks' 30-10 win. Lopez scored ten more points than the Hawks at that point.Lopez even jumped a little outside of the paint to hit a baseline jumper on Danilo Gallinari.The former Stanford star continued to shine in the third, receiving a feed from Middleton as well as adding another dunk.Holiday, like a broken record found Lopez again. Lopez threw down an alley-oop in order to keep the Hawks away:Lopez was a star down low. Logan Murdock from The Ringer provided a fitting clip:Lopez's efforts are largely responsible for the Bucks being one win away their first NBA Finals appearance in 1974.Hawks are not the answer to Bucks in PaintMilwaukee made 9 of 29 from the three-point line on Thursday. Normaly, hitting only 31.0 percent from downtown doesn't mean you're going to win in today's NBA. But, in Game 5, the Bucks won the key.Milwaukee beat Atlanta 66 to 36 in the paint. Kurt Helin from NBC Sports reported that the Bucks shot 66 per cent there. This effort prevented Milwaukee from ever being in the lead in a game that the Bucks had won by as much as 20.Antetokounmpo's starting line-up was completed by Portis, who added energy and power to Lopez's play. He was able to recover an offensive rebound early and get it back for two during the Bucks' great first quarter.He also worked in the open court, and finished a fast break with an acrobatic dunk that sent Fiserv Forum into a frenzy.Atlanta was simply beaten in the paint by Milwaukee in the first quarter. USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt and Tim Bontemps of ESPN provided some stats:The Hawks didn't have a solution for the Bucks at the basket. Middleton will be working on Kevin Huerter.Holiday took the ball from the line and shot a shot at the free-throw line.Pat Connaughton was also involved in the action, scoring a one-hander against John Collins after a clever pass from Holiday.The Hawks were done. They need to win in Atlanta to keep their season alive.What's next?Atlanta hosts Milwaukee in Game 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET at State Farm ArenaIf Milwaukee wins, the Bucks will face the Phoenix Suns at the NBA Finals.If Atlanta wins, Milwaukee will host the Hawks in Game 7 at 8:30 p.m.
