After the Bucks got pummeled in the series' first two games, on the Hawks' home court, most wrote Milwaukee off as playoff road kill and the Bucks embraced the underdog role, as they had done throughout the regular season.
"I think that's good that we're the underdogs," said Brandon Jennings prior to Game 1. "No pressure on us. All the pressure is on Atlanta now. If they lose the series to the Milwaukee Bucks, their franchise and everybody is going to be looking like, ‘What? What's going on?'"
A funny thing happened, though, on the way to the golf course; the Bucks came out like gangbusters in games two and three and then somehow, inexplicably, rallied late to steal a victory in Game 5's final minutes and suddenly, they find themselves on the verge of advancing to the second round for the first time in nine years.
"It's a clinching situation; a chance to move on," said head coach Scott Skiles after the Bucks' Friday morning shootaround. "Hopefully we come out and play one of our better games and get it ... it sure would be nice to do it tonight."
That the Bucks are even in this position defies common logic.
Heading into the season, most picked Milwaukee to finish last in the Eastern Conference. As the team grew and then got hot in the second half, following the acquisitions of Jerry Stackhouse and John Salmons, they were playing with house money.
Now, armed with a 3-2 series lead, the pressure - for the first time all season - is on the Bucks, who can eliminate the Hawks tonight with a victory at the Bradley Center.
To do that, the Bucks will need to be focused, especially with what is sure to be an ear-splitting crowd filling the Bradley Center."This has been a good team with that most of the year," Skiles said. "We came back from 18-25 at one point and they've been a focused group.
"This is a game that, human nature dictates having some butterflies, some excitement. You have to manage your emotions, though and I think we were almost too ready in Atlanta and it kind of zapped us of our energy.
"We've got to manage that excitement a little bit better, get the butterflies out during pregame, go out and play and be ready when the ball goes up."
A big reason the Bucks are in this position is the play of Jennings. He had 25 points in Milwaukee's 91-87 victory Wednesday -- including four free throws in the closing seconds -- and is averaging a team-leading 20.8 points through the first five games.
Jennings hasn't shown a hint of feeling pressure all season; he nearly posted a triple-double in his NBA debut and followed that up a few nights later with a 55-point outing against Golden State.
Despite being the only top rookie still playing, Jennings finished third in rookie of the year balloting. He's not bothered by the snub, pointing out he's got other things to worry about.
"He had a great year," Jennings said of Sacramento's Tyreke Evans, the rookie award winner. "I've got to get ready for Game 6. I'm still playing right now, so I'm trying to do the best I can for this team."
"To win a playoff series, that's real motivation right there, because they said we couldn't do it as a team."
The building will be rocking tonight with a sellout crowd expected, giving the Bucks a decided home-court advantage.
"This is probably an understatement, but it's biggest game of the year," Skiles said. "We've had great support, we need to take advantage of it."
Still, though, Skiles warns that such an atmosphere can lull players into a false sense of security.
"That's a trap you can fall into, thinking the home crowd will take care of it; that we beat them twice at home already and this is going to be easier," Skiles said. "That's the wrong mentality."
The Bucks have quite simply out-worked the Hawks in the last three games, taking advantage of Atlanta's switching defense to create favorable matchups for Milwaukee's guards.
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Hawks are fighting for their lives. Despite being bigger, more athletic and having a more star-laden roster, the Hawks looked listless in the two games in Milwaukee and blew a nine-point lead late in Game 5.
"They're just beating us," said Atlanta's Al Horford in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday. "Straight up. Tougher than us, better than us. Just playing better.
The Hawks have no intention of letting Milwaukee win on its home court and are planning for Game 7.
"We're going to win," Horford said. "No question about it. That's the bottom line. We have to bring it back to Atlanta."
No matter what happens tonight, the Bucks will play Sunday at noon; either Game 7 at Atlanta or Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Orlando. Both games will be broadcast nationally by ABC.
