The Atlanta Hawks edged over the Milwaukee Bucks 116-113 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday, leading the series 1-0.

Having played 12 playoff games before Wednesday, the Bucks remained all-victorious at Fiserv Forum. However, the Hawks put an end to that record.

This is the Hawks' first win in Eastern Finals since they moved to Atlanta in 1968. Trae Young made the biggest contributions by dropping 48 points and 11 assists. He became the first player in NBA history to get 45-plus points and 10-plus assists in one Conference Finals game and the second player under the age of 23 to get those numbers in a playoff game – the first was Luka Doncic.

Young is also the third U23 player to get 48 points in a playoff game and the second to do that in an Eastern Finals game following Kobe Bryant in 2001 and LeBron James in 2007. Forty-eight points are also the highest record for a Conference Finals debut game.

Both the Hawks and the Bucks have gone through seven games in their previous series. The Bucks even cut their rotation to shorter than six in Game 7 against the Brooklyn Nets. So it may be fatigue or their confidence in Jrue Holiday's one-on-one defense, but the Bucks did not pay the extra defensive attention needed to stop Young.

Young scored 25 points and four assists in the first half. Whenever he called for a screen, Brook Lopez always chose to close in, trying to protect the rim first. It left Young enough room to shoot and make a ton of floaters within the 3-point line.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer did not respond early in the second half. He even replaced Giannis Antetokounmpo with Bobby Portis at 5:18, believing that Portis could make up for his defensive weakness with offensive contributions.

Budenholzer shouldn't have done that because the Hawks immediately punished his decision hard. John Collins scored eight points in the following three minutes via one put back basket, two alley-oop dunks and one jumper. Two of those shots were assisted by Young who also buried one floater and one triple. Before Young made that 3-pointer, Portis retreated too much giving Young enough time to mock the lack of defense by shaking his shoulders then making the shot.

The game could have been lost much earlier for the Bucks if it wasn't for the incredible offensive work by Jrue Holiday.

Budenholzer finally made his adjustment by taking Antetokounmpo back and making him the small-ball center for the rest of the game. Antetokounmpo immediately announced his presence in the paint by delivering two blocks while scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. The small-ball squad could also switch everything on defense.

Nonetheless, the cost of this move was to watch Collins and Clint Capela run amuck under the rim. The two put down 13 points and 10 rebounds in the last quarter while Antetokounmpo, who's the Bucks' only full-size big man on the floor, had to invest most of his attention to defending Young.

To be fair, Antetokounmpo had a great performance in Wednesday's home game. The Hawks only had Capela to match him in size and power, but Capela is not fast enough to cover him in transition. That's why Antetokounmpo had a comfortable 12-17 under the rim and finished seven dunks to get 34 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

Holiday also showcased franchise-player-level performance shooting 5-12 from beyond to get 33 points and 10 assists.

By contrast, it was Khris Middleton who became the deadweight going 6-23 on the field and missing all nine triple attempts. When the Bucks shot 8-36 from downtown as a team and Lopez only played 20 minutes in the game, their relied on their "Big Three" too much to afford an underperformance by any of them.

On the Hawks side, by comparison, besides Young's epic performance, Collins contributed a big double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds; Capela had 12 points and 19 rebounds, and Kevin Huerter scored 13 points as well.

Despite the loss, the Bucks still have a better lineup than the Hawks on paper. Their advantage in size and athleticism remains the same. Antetokounmpo may be looking at a 35-plus point series – given nothing holds him back. It's no shame being unable to slow Young down – neither the New York Knicks nor the Philadelphia 76ers, both top 5 defensive teams, figured out how to do it.

However, the loss in Game 1 should remind Budenholzer of the fact that they no longer have home game advantage anymore.

Game 2 will take place again at Fiserv Forum on Friday.