The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 115-110 on Friday at State Farm Arena. Georges Niang, Terance Mann, and Caris LeVert were not available to make their Hawks debuts after Atlanta acquired them on deadline day. In contrast, Kyle Kuzma made his Bucks debut, but Giannis Antetokounmpo missed this game due to injury.
With the new guys unavailable, Mouhamed Gueye and Dominick Barlow saw extra minutes. Gueye took full advantage, registering career-highs in rebounds and blocks across 23 minutes. He finished with his first career double-double- 15 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, and four blocks. Atlanta had four players register double-doubles. Vít Krejcí had 11 points and 10 boards, Dyson Daniels dished out a career-high 10 assists with 15 points, and Onyeka Okongwu added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
After a solid start on both ends of the floor in the first quarter, Atlanta went on a 19-2 run to grab a 36-24 lead after the first quarter. The Hawks shot 7-14 from beyond the arc and limited Milwaukee to just 10-26 from the field. However, while Atlanta shot the ball well from the deep in the first, the Bucks took hot three-point shooting to another level in the second. They knocked down all 10 of their triple tries to start the quarter. Yes, 10 in a row. Eventually, the streak stopped there but not before the score flipped upside down. The Bucks led 73-55 at halftime after losing the opening frame by 12 points. Milwaukee scored a whopping 47 points to Atlanta’s 19, shot 11-15 from deep, and forced the Hawks into six turnovers in the second quarter.
Atlanta came out of halftime on a mission defensively, going on a 21-4 run to tie the game at 88. It won the third quarter 37-17, holding the Bucks to 7-20 from the field, and forcing five turnovers. The Hawks asserted dominance in the paint, scoring 24 points inside compared to the Bucks’ eight. Milwaukee had just four points in the last seven minutes of the third frame.
The Hawks’ performance in the third set up a tight fourth quarter. Gueye ignited the crowd with back-to-back impressive blocks. He finished an alley-oop on the other end to punctuate his impact on both ends. However, the Bucks pushed back; they went on a 9-2 run to cut Atlanta’s lead to one point. With 1:30 left on the game clock, the Hawks held a four-point lead. Trae Young and Brook Lopez both hit floaters keeping the score differential. After missing a three, Young stole the ball from Gary Trent Jr., and the Bucks were forced to foul. The Hawks’ star guard went 1-2 from the stripe, but Milwaukee could not cash in from deep on the other end.
Young ended with 24 points and seven assists, and Zaccharie Risacher added 13. Damian Lillard and Bobby Portis led the Bucks without Antetokounmpo. Lillard had 23 points, 10 dimes, and nine rebounds, while Portis totaled 26 points, 15 boards, and six assists. Trent added 19 points with three steals off the bench.
The Hawks now embark on a three-game road trip before the All-Star break. It starts on Saturday when they face the Washington Wizards.
