Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots the ball against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: VCG

Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for 71 points as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied to beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday.

Middleton scored 20 of his 38 points in the fourth and Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds as the Bucks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series in front of a crowd of 16,600 at State Farm Arena in Georgia. Middleton also had 11 rebounds.

The Bucks were down by 15 points in the first quarter and didn't take their first lead until the third, but they finished with a 25-7 scoring surge as Middleton led the charge.

Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and Italy's Danilo Gallinari came off the bench to score 18 points in the loss.

The Hawks' offense ­started to wilt after Young appeared to reinjure his right ankle and headed to the dressing room late in the third. He returned with about three minutes gone in the final quarter. 

Young is averaging 9.9 assists in the postseason but had just four on Sunday as he didn't get as much  help from his supporting cast.

Milwaukee improved to 3-0 in Game 3s during the postseason. They cruised to a 113-84 win over the Miami Heat en route to a four-game sweep in the first round, and held on for an 86-83 win over the 

Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of the second round to jump-start a series comeback.

The Hawks started quickly jumping out to a 25-14 lead with just under four minutes left in the first quarter as Young had 10 points. 

Atlanta carried the play for almost the entire first half, leading by 15 points in the first. 

But the Bucks tied it 56-56 on their final possession of the second ­quarter when Pat Connaughton nailed a 23-foot three-pointer from the corner after taking a pass from Jrue Holiday.

The Bucks finally grabbed the lead late in the third when Bobby Portis made a basket to make it 82-80.

Antetokounmpo sparked the comeback by scoring 11 points in the second quarter which set the stage for Middleton to shine down the stretch and seal the victory.