Atlanta Hawks stumble hard in 107-77 loss to Milwaukee Bucks
The Atlanta Hawks came into their Friday night match-up with the Milwaukee Bucks on a 5 game win streak and winners of 14 out of 15 games. That all came to end as the underdog Bucks came into a packed Phillips Arena and blew out Atlanta, 107 -77.
The first quarter was was fine for both teams as the Hawks put 6 guys on the scoresheet with Paul Millsap leading the way with 9 points and 5 boards. The Hawks trailed 24-22, but then came the 2nd quarter and Jared Dudley. The Hawks went ice cold from the floor and in between all the missed shots, they turned the ball over 7 times. DeMarre Carroll had an especially rough first half as he was 0/5 from the field and 0/4 from behind the arc. To put it simply, nothing was going right.
Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder combined for as many turnovers as they assists (5) and the only Hawk in double figures at half was Paul Millsap. On the other end of the floor, Jared Dudley found a time machine and became the Jared Dudley of old, as he lead all Bucks with 15 points. Milwaukee managed 34 points and got to the line 9 times in the 2nd quarter alone to take a 16 point lead into half.
The third quarter wasn’t much better, as the Hawks continued their poor shooting and were unable to cut into the 1st half deficit. Atlanta shot a measly 31% from the field in the 3rd quarter and had as many turnovers as they did made baskets (6). It’s hard to put the blame on any one person as everyone, with the exception of Paul Millsap, struggled in all facets. Kyle Korver, who came into the night shooting 53% from three, was 1-6 from the arc and the team as a whole only had 14 assists in the first three quarters.
The lead reached 30 in the 4th quarter as Milwaukee continued to pound the ball inside. The Bucks ended up with 6 players in double figures with the rejuvenated Jared Dudley leading all scorers with 24 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists. Dudley even managed to set an NBA record by being the first player to be perfect from the field with 10 or more shots (10/10) and perfect from beyond the arc with at least 3 shots (4/4). The only way to stop those kind of numbers is to respond with good long range shooting of your own and that wasn’t happening. At one point in the 4th quarter, the Hawks were 3 for 22 from three point land and it just never got any better.
If you are looking for s0mething to be encouraged about, look no further than Adreian Payne getting meaningful minutes. He didn’t look fantastic in his 13 minutes but then again, no one in a Hawks uniform other than Paul Millsap (22 points, 11 boards) looked good. Payne ended the night with 2 points on 4 chances and 3 boards but was one of the few Hawks to not turn the ball over. To put the night into perspective, one of the loudest ovations from a sold out Phillips Arena came when Zaza Pachulia was introduced(and rightfully so).
The Atlanta Hawks will have a chance for revenge tomorrow night as they head straight to Milwaukee for the 2nd half of a home/home with the Bucks. Tip is 8:30 pm ET and be sure to check out the preview tomorrow morning.