The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks 132-121 at Fiserv Forum on Saturday night. This game was highly competitive until the final few minutes in the fourth quarter. The Bucks closed the contest on a 13-2 run as the Hawks’ offense went cold down the stretch. It was yet another offensive slugfest, and even with Atlanta’s backcourt combining for 62 points, Milwaukee escaped with the victory.
Dejounte Murray scored the first five points for the Hawks. Neither team could string together stops as both squads shot 3-4 from beyond the arc to start the contest. Atlanta opened up a 27-21 lead when Trae Young and Murray took advantage of the Bucks’ drop coverage. However, Bobby Portis quickly boosted Milwaukee off the bench, hitting his first five shots and giving the Bucks a 33-32 lead. Both teams shot 70% from the field for the majority of the first quarter. Milwaukee took a 42-37 lead into the second quarter led by Portis’ 13 points and Khris Middleton’s 10.
Head Coach Quin Snyder started off the second quarter with Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu on the floor together. While this fought off the Bucks’ size advantage on the defensive end, Atlanta could not score effectively with this lineup. Milwaukee took their biggest lead at 50-43 when Giannis Antetokounmpo started breaking down the Hawks’ interior defense. The Hawks found themselves down 67-63 entering halftime. Murray and Young scored 18 and 20 points, respectively, and Antetokounmpo led the way for Milwaukee with 15 points. The Bucks shot 57% from the field in the first half compared to Atlanta’s 49%. Under Snyder, the Hawks normally take a lot of three’s, but they only shot 13 three’s in the first half.
After scoring only 26 points in the second quarter, Atlanta’s offense came out firing to start the third. The Hawks put together an opening 11-4 run to take a 74-71 lead. After shooting just one shot in the first half, Saddiq Bey hit his first two attempts after the break. The Hawks made five out of their first six shots to stun the Milwaukee crowd after halftime. However, soon after, Antetokounmpo took advantage of Atlanta’s live-ball turnovers and quickly converted them into thunderous dunks on the offensive end, giving the Bucks an 84-83 lead. As the third quarter came to a close, Bogdan Bogdanovic knocked down a 30-foot three-pointer to cut the Buck’s lead to 99-98 heading into the final frame.
While Murray and Young were spectacular offensively for the majority of the night, Atlanta’s offense struggled in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee held a slim lead for most of the fourth until Cameron Payne knocked down a three to give the Bucks a 119-114 lead. At this moment, the Buck’s bench outscored the Hawks’ bench 36-20. Atlanta could not find an offensive rhythm down the stretch, leading to a Milwaukee 13-2 run to close out the home team’s victory.
Young totaled 32 points and 12 assists, and Murray scored 30 points on 12-19 shooting. Clint Capela blocked four shots and put up a 10-point, 17-rebound double-double but only shot 4-13 from the field. After a subpar first-half, Bey had 17 points and nine rebounds, while De’Andre Hunter mustered 12 points on 3-10 shooting. Bogdanovic scored 14 points but shot an uncharacteristic 6-18 from the field.
For Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo finished with a monster triple-double- 32 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds. Damian Lillard scored an efficient 25 (10-16 FG), while Middleton had 12. Brook Lopez had 11 points with three blocks, and Malik Beasley added 16 points with four three’s. Portis and Payne gave the Bucks scoring boosts off the bench with 15 and 18 points, respectively.
The Hawks do not play again until Dec. 6 when the Brooklyn Nets visit State Farm Arena. When these two teams last met, Mikal Bridges and Young both had offensive explosions. Hawks fans should expect a similar result with both teams ranking in the top 10 offensive rating this season.
