On Tuesday, the Atlanta Hawks easily cruised to a Game 4 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hawks completed a 110-88 rout of the Bucks to even the series.

Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Bucks were the favorites to win it since Hawks’ star Trae Young was ruled out just before game time due to a fluke injury. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, they were unprepared for the scoring of Lou Williams (21 points) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (20 points).

The Hawks started the game with a quick 15-5 run that set the tone for Milwaukee’s shooting woes. Williams finished the first half scoring 13 points as Atlanta held a 51-38 lead at halftime. The Hawks never trailed; it was a wire-to-wire victory.

Five minutes into the third quarter, Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo left the game with an injury. Antetokounmpo jumped to contest an alley-oop from John Collins to Clint Capela. The star landed awkwardly on his left leg, buckling his knee. He remained on the floor for several minutes before being helped to the locker room with a noticeable limp. The two-time MVP scored 14 points in 24 minutes before leaving.

“It just looked like their legs got tangled up,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game. “They both landed awkwardly. That’s what I saw live. I haven’t seen anything else.”

Milwaukee called it a hyperextended left knee injury. Antetokounmpo is scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of the injury.

With Antetokounmpo gone, the Hawks extended their 10-point lead behind a 15-0 run as the Bucks remained scoreless for three and a half minutes. Jrue Holiday’s 19 points led the Bucks, and Khris Middleton added 16 points. Both players shot 6 for 17 from the floor. No other Bucks player reached double digits.

Milwaukee shot an abysmal 39% from the field as a team and 21% from three-point range on 39 attempts. On top of that, Milwaukee committed 15 turnovers that led to 16 points for the Hawks. The Bucks were unable to convert Atlanta’s mistakes into buckets. The Bucks scored just four points off Atlanta’s 11 turnovers.

With the series tied 2-2, the Eastern Conference finals shift back to Milwaukee, with both teams missing their respective superstars. Young and Antetokounmpo should each be considered questionable for the upcoming critical Game 5 matchup.

The Atlanta Hawks were effectively cooked in Game 5 of their playoff series against the 76ers, down 26 points and looking at a must-win Game 6 to avoid elimination. By the time the final buzzer rang, though, Atlanta walked away with a victory and inched one step closer to its ultimate goal of an NBA Finals victory.

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan discussed his team’s outlook on each game they prepare for. “We always talk about playing a 48-minute game,” McMillan said. “It’s a long game. And it took all 48 minutes tonight to get it done.”

The victory in Game 5 was more impressive than the fourth matchup between the Hawks and the 76ers, but both were predicated on come-from-behind victories that were spurred by relentless play, regardless of the numbers on the scoreboard.

Trae Young was once again the sparkplug for the Hawks, dropping an offensive hammer with 39 points. Young was greatly assisted by the play of veterans Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams, with the former converting critical late-game threes and the latter scoring 13 (of his 15) points in the final frame of play.

The second straight loss for the 76ers left Sixers head coach Doc Rivers scratching his head for answers. “Listen, we scored 19 points and gave up 40,” he said, alluding to the fourth quarter. “So it’s on us. It’s on all of us. It’s on me. It’s on the players. And we have to figure out how to get back up, which we will, and bring this game back here for Game 7.”

Part of the strategy for the 76ers in the next game absolutely should include free-throw work with Ben Simmons, who is shooting a historically bad 32.8% from the line in the postseason. Joel Embiid was forced to carry the team offensively and defensively most of the night, and the 76ers will obviously look to lighten the burden on Embiid’s shoulders in Game 6.

Game 6 will be a difficult one for the 76ers, who will be on the road in Atlanta with a crowd hoping to see the Hawks clinch their second conference final berth since 1970.

The upcoming series between the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks is shaping up to be an absolute barn burner, with anticipation already building for potentially the most competitive first-round series. The Hawks came in first in the Southeast division, with a record of 41-31, finishing a game ahead of the defending conference champions, the Miami Heat.

The path to this point was absolutely fascinating for the Hawks, who fired head coach Lloyd Pierce early in the season, and replaced him with Nate McMillian. McMillian turned out to be the perfect replacement, as the Hawks went 27-11 with him as head coach. If we extend this winning percentage over an entire season, the Hawks would have won over 50 games and been the one seed in the east, a remarkable feat. Do not take this team lightly; they are only the fifth seed because of a rough patch to start the year.

Atlanta is led by star point guard Trae Young, who averaged 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game. He’s as good of a scorer as he is a distributor, and that should come in handy going into his first postseason. Flanking the star guard are wings Bogdan Bogdanovic and Deandre Hunter. Bogdanovic is a crafty offensive player, as well as a good shooter, with a red hot 43% three-point percentage. He’s the third-leading scorer on the team, averaging 16.4 points per game. Hunter is a three-and-d player, more equipped to spot up shoot and defend the other team’s best perimeter player. He’ll be thrown at Julius Randle a lot in this series. The big men in the Hawks’ starting lineup are John Collins and Clint Capela. Both are excellent roll men for Young, and spearhead a Hawks team that was fifth in rebounds per game. The team’s sixth man is one of the best of all time, scoring guard Lou Williams.

For the Knicks, they finished third in the Atlantic division, but it was their best season in almost a decade, with a record of 41-31. Their coach, Tom Thibodeau, is experienced, having led multiple teams to the playoffs over the course of his career. He’ll garner Coach of the Year praise undoubtedly, and for good reason. The Knicks are certainly not the most talented roster in the league, but the team’s all-around grit, high-level defense and determination have gotten them this far.

New York is led by star forward and Most Improved player of the Year candidate Julius Randle, who’s averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists per game. The Knicks go as Randle goes, and they’ll need to really get him going if they want postseason success. His ability to rebound against Capela and Collins will be crucial. Plus, he’s the offensive center piece for the Knicks. The Hawks will throw everything they have at him. Expect big nights out of Randle as this series progresses.

His supporting cast will matter too, and the back court of Elfrid Payton and Reggie Bullock have an important job. For Payton, secondary playmaking is vital. Randle will receive double teams, and when the ball is swung to Payton, he’s going to need to be aggressive and either score or set up a teammate. Think of a reverse situation of Draymond Green and Stephen Curry. What makes Green so valuable is his ability to make a play when Curry is doubled. Payton will need to do this for Randle. He will also need to harass Young on the other side of the ball. Payton’s role is vital to a Knicks win. Bullock on the other hand, needs to make his threes to provide floor spacing. RJ Barrett is another starter for the Knicks, at the small forward position. His development over the course of his sophomore season has been nice, and he’s the second leading scorer on a team that isn’t that good at scoring. He’s going to need to take advantage of a Hawks team that employs three below-average defenders as starters, and make them pay. Center Nerlens Noel must provide rim protection and help the Knicks stifle the Hawks’ glass attack as well. Noel against Capela will be quite the matchup to watch. For the Knicks bench, veteran Derrick Rose is the sixth man and has to add scoring punch if the Knicks want to advance.

This very well could be the most competitive matchup in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Game 1 is at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Match 23.

In the NBA’s final game before the All-Star break, the Clippers faced the Celtics in a nail-biting double-overtime game that pitted two of the league’s top teams against each other. In the first overtime with the Los Angeles down three, Clippers’ guard Lou Williams spotted Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens telling his team that they had a foul to give before the Clippers could shoot free throws during a timeout. Williams proceeded to tell his teammates, “Once you catch the ball go into your shooting motion before they foul you.”

On the very next play, the Clippers inbounded the ball with 23.6 seconds left down 127-124. Williams caught the ball in the corner with Hayward closely guarding him. He hesitated before pulling up for a contested jump shot as Hayward fouled him. One official, Dedric Taylor, initially counted the basket and the foul but was quickly overruled by the officiating crew who deemed it a foul before the shot.

The Clippers were able to force a second overtime on the next play with a game-tying three from Landry Shamet but they eventually lost 141-133 and coach Doc Rivers was clearly frustrated after the team’s second straight road loss.

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

“I thought the one call was huge, the no four-point play,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers told ESPN. “I don’t know what you have to do — that’s a shot. The officials are telling us that they had a foul to give so they were trying to foul. When you see the film, they clearly were not trying to foul. You can see Hayward bring his hands back up as the guy is going up. But you can anticipate that they’re going to commit a foul. … That was a big no-call.”

Rivers later added, “I just didn’t like the fact that the guy on the call called it good. The guy that was right on the call called it good. The two other officials, Scott [Foster] from the other side comes running over. I think the guy on the call should have the say. It is what it is.

Williams finished with 35 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two blocks. He also scored 11 straight at one point in the fourth quarter. Williams told the media about his approach before he attempted the three pointer in the first overtime.

“He said they had a foul to give, and I said duh, I know that, too,” Williams said of the official’s explanation of the call. “That’s why I went into my shooting motion. Sometimes in this league you understand the rules and so you try to beat the rules. I think we’re taking away some of that in our game with anticipating the calls or anticipating the scenarios where they’re up three points and we know they’re going to take a foul. I’m watching Brad Stevens tell them that they have a foul to give, so once I saw that I looked over at everybody that I thought was going to shoot the ball and said, ‘Once you catch the ball, go into your shooting motion before they foul you. That’s a heads-up play. It wasn’t a swing-through, it wasn’t any of the things that they’ve banned, so I don’t understand why it wasn’t a good bucket.”

Paul George informed Rivers at halftime that his hamstring was bothering him and sat out the entire second half. George had previously missed ten games in January with hamstring issues and the Clippers decided not to gamble with the six-time NBA all-star’s health.

“He said it wasn’t bad,” Rivers told the Los Angeles Times. “I said, ‘You shouldn’t have told me that.’ I don’t think he wanted to come out. But once you tell me your hamstring, you feel anything, we have an All-Star break coming up, it’s a no-brainer for us.”

As a side note, the Celtics were propelled by Jayson Tatum’s 39 points and nine rebounds including ten points in the overtime periods. Boston heads into the all-star break with a 38-16 record sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference. The Clippers fell to 37-18 and are third in the Western Conference.

The Clippers had a 15-point half time lead at home against the Rockets Thursday night, but lost their cool and the game 122-117. Lou Williams and Patrick Beverley were both ejected in the fourth quarter and the Clippers could not recover.

The first Clipper to be ejected was Williams. With 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Williams tried to strip Russell Westbrook at the top of the three point line, and was called for a reach-in foul. He appeared to steal the ball cleanly as Westbrook was attempting to shoot a jumper. Williams usually has a calm demeanor, but could not hold back his emotions jumping up and down in a demonstrative manner with disgust on his face. He argued the call and received a technical, but had to be restrained by Head Coach Doc Rivers and was ultimately sent packing after trying to make his way towards referee Kane Fitzgerald.

“I thought Kane, in his defense, gave us every chance to try to get Lou away. Lou, it got heated and there was no turning back. That happens. It should never happen in the fourth quarter. No matter what’s going on, we just cannot get techs in the fourth quarter, let alone one of our better scorers. Even if Lou is right or wrong, to me that is the time to be the bigger man on that one and walk away,” Rivers said.

On top of that, with two minutes and 52 seconds left to play, Beverley fouled out and an exchanged words with Westbrook leading to his second technical of the game. Beverley was ejected as Westbrook waved “goodbye” to him resulting in a technical for the Rockets’ guard.

Westbrook had a huge night scoring 40 points with ten rebounds and five assists. James Harden finished with 28 points and ten assists as Houston outscored the Clippers 68-48 in the second half. Paul George scored 34 points and grabbed nine boards. Kawhi Leonard added 25 points and 9 rebounds.

Rivers called the game a learning experience. “We lost our composure as a team. It’s a good learning experience for us. I’d rather for it to happen now than in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. We will see if that is a learning experience. The techs have to be. That is something we can control,” Rivers told ESPN.

The Clippers and Rockets have some sort of a “rivalry” if you want to call it that. Back in January 2018, former Rockets guard Chris Paul headed to the Clippers locker room following a loss in Staples Center with the intention of confronting players. This past November Austin Rivers pleaded with officials to have his father Doc ejected and followed it up with a “call me” gesture as his father was escorted off the court. In their most recent matchup, Westbrook and Beverley jawed at each other after the Rockets point guard missed a three pointer near the end of regulation. At the end of that game Westbrook’s brother got into an argument with Clipper’s forward Montrezl Harrell and had to be escorted out by security.

“We ain’t won a [ring],” George said. “Houston ain’t won it in forever. It’s got to be a little bit more to be a rivalry. We’re competing. Both teams are competing. Got to be a little bit more for it to be a rivalry.”

The teams will square off again on March 5 in Houston.

Lou Williams stole the spotlight from Kevin Durant with a brilliant performance in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 125-106 road victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, one that included a 30-foot shot in the dying seconds.

Lou Williams highlights, Clippers vs. Warriors

The Clippers guard finished with a career-high 50 points, 27 of which came in the third quarter.

Durant received a standing ovation from the crowd at Oracle Arena in the first half after he reached a major milestone: 20,000 points. The 29-year-old All-Star forward — who was the Finals MVP in 2017 — is the second-youngest NBA player to surpass the 20K mark.

After the game, Durant commented on Williams’ big night:

“He ordered a 50-piece nuggets on us tonight,” said Durant, who had 40 points on Wednesday. “Somebody scores 50 on you the way he did — you’ve just got to pay homage and move on.”

The Warriors entered halftime up by four, but then Williams went on his explosive run to put the Clippers up for good.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he believed his team’s generally negative attitude played a major role in the loss.

“Our spirit wasn’t right,” said Kerr. “Our energy wasn’t right. We weren’t connected, and they were,” Kerr said. “The Clippers, they came in here, probably insulted that we were resting Klay, and obviously Steph goes down. … They came in and just kicked our ass.”

“I just didn’t like the way the game unfolded with our lack of energy — actually it was like a negative energy. I haven’t seen that often with this team over the last few years. So tonight was a bad night.”

Draymond Green finished with an astoundingly low seven points on 1-of-9 shooting, no steals, no blocks and a minus-16 for the game.

Here are more stats from Wednesday’s matchup:

Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports reported early Thursday that although the Clippers and Williams have discussed a contract extension, no deal has yet officially been reached.

The (33-9, 1st in Western Conference) next visit Milwaukee on Friday night, while the Clippers (19-21, 9th in West) will visit Sacramento on Thursday night.

OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 04: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors claps his hands during their preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers at ORACLE Arena on October 4, 2016 in Oakland, California.

Lou Williams scored 31 points off the bench, and James Harden — Houston’s fourth-leading scorer — added 22 points and 12 assists for the Rockets in a 137-125 home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.

Lou Williams, James Harden Lift Rockets to 135-127 Win vs Thunder

Both players were crucial in the win, but Harden was particularly praised.

”He could’ve easily gotten 40 points and he could’ve just kept on going,” coach Mike D’Antoni said of Harden. ”But he knew these guys were going and threw the ball their way. He just plays the game the way it should be played.”

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 39 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive triple-double and 36th this season, although Harden led the Rockets to a 25-point explosion through three quarters in the matchup between top MVP contenders.

”They hit a lot of shots, man,” Westbrook said. ”They got hot and especially with a team like that, they get hot and it can be trouble.”

Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon added 24 points each for the Rockets, whose lead was cut to eight on a 3-pointer by Westbrook with about 90 seconds remaining. Houston scored four quick points after that to secure the win.

Harden didn’t take all the credit, however: he took the time to praise his teammates.

”Especially when you’ve got several guys knocking down shots and making plays,” he said. ”Trevor did a really good job on both ends and obviously Lou and Eric. Pat (Beverley) didn’t score the ball but he did so many other things that won’t show up on the stat sheet but got us a victory.”

Harden left late in the game after falling onto the court and appearing to injure his left wrist. He said he didn’t expect to miss any time.

The Rockets (51-22, 3rd in Western Conference) jumped out to a 9-0 lead and led by at least 20 for most of the game.

Williams made 11 of 15 shots and tied a career-high by making 7 of 8 3-pointers. He didn’t miss a shot until his layup was blocked by Jerami Grant early in the fourth quarter.

Houston won its fourth straight overall and has won nine of their past 12 games against Oklahoma City, (41-31, 6th in Western Conference) who lost after winning five of their last six.

The Rockets gained a 79-59 lead by halftime thanks in part to nearly perfect 3-point shooting by Ariza and Williams. Ariza made four of five attempts and had 16 points at the break, and Williams was a perfect 6 for 6 overall, with four 3-pointers to pile up 18 points in the first two quarters. Houston’s 79 points were the most the team had scored in a half this season.

Houston’s Ryan Anderson will miss approximately two weeks after spraining his right ankle on Friday night against the Pelicans. D’Antoni hopes Anderson will recover in time to play the last couple of regular-season games and be at full strength for the start of the playoffs.

Westbrook said the following on his relationship with Harden: “It’s a blessing to be able to have people you grew up with in the NBA. It’s something you don’t take for granted and friendships are something I don’t take for granted. James is a good friend of mine, and I am a good friend of his.”

The Thunder next visit Dallas on Monday, while the Rockets will host Golden State on Tuesday.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – FEBRUARY 23: Lou Williams #12 of the Houston Rockets shoots the ball during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on February 23, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana.