The Atlanta Hawks handed the Milwaukee Bucks their first loss of the season at home Monday with a final tally of 117-98. The Hawks used a dominate second half, that saw Atlanta outscore Milwaukee, 65-40. Hawks guard, Trae Young, was ruled out for just before the game due to a left leg contusion.
Hawks fans will remember this one as the “A.J. Griffin” game. The rookie out of Duke played the most minutes that he has all season, with 31, and he did not disappoint. Griffin finished with 24 points on 67% from the field, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. His energy on defense and timely shot-making navigated Atlanta to a double-digit lead in the second half.
The Hawks did a great job of containing Giannis Antetokounmpo to only 9-20 shooting from the field, finishing with 25 points. Atlanta threw multiple bodies at Antetokounmpo: Clint Capela, John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, and the formula seemed to work. The Bucks second leading-scorer was Jrue Holiday, who finished with 16.
Okongwu sent State Farm Arena into a frenzy with two put-back dunks in the second half. Notably, both were while Antetokounmpo was boxing out. Okongwu finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on the night. It was contributions from Griffin, Okongwu and Jalen Johnson, who stuffed the stat sheet with 5 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 2 steals, that propelled the Hawks to victory.
The ‘baby Hawks’ played a significant contribution, but make no mistake, Dejounte Murray was the best player on the floor for the Hawks once again. The two-way play of the off-season addition has completely changed the makeup of this team. Murray finished with another near triple-double of 25 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, and another multi-steal game with 3 steals. He is doing it all and the defensive effort he provides is already permeating around the team. If Murray keeps this type of defensive effort going, he may be a lock for an All-NBA defensive team and in the running for Defensive Player of the Year.
Atlanta now boasts a 7-3 record after ten games, good enough for fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks host a back-to-back home set with the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. Tip-off for the game on Wednesday will be at 7:30 p.m. eastern.
