The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Hawks 113-105 Wednesday night at State Farm Arena. Right from tip-off, Atlanta got behind the eight-ball in dramatic fashion, giving up three open three’s, and an 11-0 run to begin the contest. The Bucks had an elite half-court defense with Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo controlling the paint, and the Hawks could not get stops early to generate fast-break points. Milwaukee torched Atlanta from beyond the arc, hitting a whopping nine three’s in the first quarter. Bucks rookie, Marjon Beauchamp, came off the bench hot, knocking down two three’s. The Hawks never established a rhythm on either side of the ball as the Bucks stormed out to a 39-19 lead heading into the second quarter.
Atlanta came out with slightly more energy in the second, bringing the deficit between 13-15 points multiple times. However, Milwaukee always had an answer to keep their lead around 20 points. While the Hawks only allowed three three’s in the second, the Bucks still found ways to score in the paint and mid-range with Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis. Bogdan Bogdanovic provided a much-needed spark heading into half-time, hitting a one-legged, buzzer-beating-three to send both teams into their locker rooms with the Bucks leading 67-46.
Two minutes into the third quarter, the Hawks’ starters had combined for only 22 points. However, the momentum started to shift to Atlanta’s side when Dejounte Murray made a great read and found Onyeka Okongwu for an and-one layup. From this moment, the Hawks stepped up their defense generating easier looks on offense. The bench unit with A.J. Griffin, Jalen Johnson and Bogdan Bogdanovic gave the Hawks a much-needed boost offensively. Johnson had several fast-break buckets, including a ferocious and-one dunk to cut Milwaukee’s lead down to 89-80. Atlanta won the third quarter 36-22 and closed it out strongly on an extended 30-13 run.
The Hawks started the fourth quarter down 82-89 and continued to ride the momentum from the third quarter. Frank Kaminsky knocked down two huge three’s and dropped 13 points in his 14 minutes. With the Bucks leading 96-99, Atlanta fans went into a frenzy to will the Hawks to take their first lead of the night. Bogdanovic would do just that with a baseline mid-range jumper to give the Hawks a 103-101 advantage with 3:12 left. However, the Bucks silenced the crowd quickly, finishing the game on a 10-0 run on the strength of Holiday’s clutch shot-making.
Without Trae Young and Clint Capela, Atlanta fought hard to make this game competitive. Disappointingly, Murray only mustered nine points on 4-16 shooting. De’Andre Hunter and John Collins added 16 and 15 points respectively, but the bench had the best offensive performance for Atlanta. Bogdanovic dropped 22 points, while Johnson had 12 in his 15 minutes. Griffin had seven points to go along with Kaminsky’s 13 points. Every bench player for Atlanta had a positive plus/minus.
For Milwaukee, Holiday led the charge with 27 points, while Lopez added 20 of his own, including four threes. Okongwu defended Antetokounmpo brilliantly, holding him to just seven points on 3-10 shooting. Bobby Portis collected a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench, and Jevon Carter knocked down four three’s in his 13-point performance.
Ultimately, the Hawks dug themselves too deep a hole in the first-half to overcome the deficit. Atlanta’s defense in the second-half brought them back into the game, but the comeback, down 24 at one point in this game, fell short. Atlanta will need to bring the energy they had in the second-half for a full 48 minutes, as they take on the Pacers in Indiana on Friday night.
