Atlanta Hawks avenge blowout with 90-85 win over Milwaukee Bucks
The Atlanta Hawks faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in two nights, as they completed the second half of their home and home series. Atlanta, coming off a 30-point rout by the Bucks on Friday night, did not play well, but played well enough to win 90-85 on Saturday night in Wisconsin.
Looking at the box score and the overall game stats, you would never guess that Atlanta would’ve come out winners. The Hawks only shot 37% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc, but took much better care of the basketball only turning the ball over 11 times. The first quarter wasn’t pretty for either team and the 17% shooting, 10-point opening frame from Milwaukee was an early sign of the poor shooting to come. The Hawks would take an 11-point lead to the second quarter, but that wouldn’t last long.
Atlanta struggled mightily to get anything to fall early in the second quarter, managing only a Mike Scott layup in the first 6:27 of the frame. That cold run of shooting allowed the Bucks to climb back in it and actually take a 33-30 lead with 3:32 remaining in the half. Luckily for Atlanta, they were able to find their rhythm in the final 3 minutes, and were able to take a 2-point lead (39-37) into the locker room.
The third quarter featured a lot of back and forth action, but ultimately the second half became the Al Horford and Jeff Teague show. Teague had one of this most complete games of the season, ending with 25 points, 8 boards, and 7 assists. Horford was a rebound shy of a 20/10 but did end with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. One of the main culprits of the 30-point lashing on Friday night was Milwaukee forward Jared Dudley, but he struggled Saturday night, going 3-for-8 from the field and only putting up 9 points in 32 minutes.
The game would remain close into the 4th quarter, but Al Horford put the Hawks ahead with 8:03 and the road team would never relinquish the lead again. The 90-85 win was a much needed win for the psyche of the Atlanta Hawks coming off the worst lost of the season the night before. The Hawks have two days off before the circus comes to town on Tuesday in the form of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lebron James.
We will have a full preview of the Eastern Conference showdown in the coming days. Tip on Tuesday is set for 7:30 pm ET. Stay tuned.