Atlanta Uses Great Second Half to Overcome 21-Point Defecit and Defeat Milwaukee 115-110

Atlanta came in tonight coming off of their last second loss to the Spurs on Wednesday needing a win vs the Bucks, who were without MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Hawks were still missing Clint Capela and did not have the three players that were acquired at the trade deadline, Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann. The Hawks were underdogs tonight, but got a career night from 2nd year forward Mouhamed Gueye and four players tonight had double-doubles, including Gueye, and that got them a 115-110 win in their last home game before the All-Star break.

It was a tale of two halves tonight for the Hawks. They were outscored 47-19 in the second quarter and trailed by 18 at the half. Atlanta proceeded to outscore the Bucks 60-37 in the second half, holding them to 5-25 shooting from three, which was pretty remarkable after the Bucks hit 11 threes in the second quarter alone. Atlanta outscored the Bucks 60-38 in the paint tonight and outrebounded the Bucks 52-43

The Hawks got their usual good performances from guys like Trae Young and Dyson Daniels, but their bench was a huge reason for the win tonight. Missing the three players that were traded for yesterday, plus Clint Capela, meant that the Hawks were going to be relying on a bench unit of Keaton Wallace, Larry Nance, Vit Krejci, and Gueye for this game. Gueye received the backup power forward minutes with Hunter off the team and made the most of it. Gueye finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks tonight, his best as an NBA player. Krejci had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Nance had 11 points. This was the best game the bench had played in quite some time and they are going to be getting some reinforcements soon.

The bench was good, but the starters also saw some standout performances. Dyson Daniels continues his hot stretch on offense with a 15-point, 10 assists, and six rebound performance. Onyeka Okongwu followed up the best game of his career with a 14-point and 12 rebound double-double and Trae Young had 24 points and seven assists. The Hawks finished the game shooting 49% from the field and 36% from three.

With Antetokounmpo out, this was a game that the Hawks really could have used a win and they got it. They are now 24-28 and have a short turnaround. They head to Washington D.C. to play the Wizards tomorrow and have three road games before they hit the All-Star break.

Atlanta started Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Dominick Barlow, and Onyeka Okongu. With Giannis unavailable tonight, the Bucks started Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson Jr, Taurean Prince, Bobby Portis, and Brook Lopez.

WIthout Antetokounmpo or Middleton, the Bucks were going to look to Lillard and Portis to lead the way in scoring and thats what they did early on. The duo combined for 14 of the first 16 Bucks points and Milwaukee was shooting the ball well early. Five big points from Young was helping the Hawks keep pace early.

After a timeout, the Hawks went to their bench, bringing in Keaton Wallace, Larry Nance Jr, Vit Krejci, and Mouhamed Gueye, who had not seen much playing time in recent games. It did not take long for Gueye to make his presence felt either. He had a highlight block against Brook Lopez and then went to the other end of the floor to hit a three to give the Hawks a 22-19 lead and Doc Rivers called a timeout.

MO MET HIM AT THE RIM pic.twitter.com/B9WM6PduXb
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 8, 2025

After the timeout, the Hawks proceeded to close the quarter on a 14-7 run and the three point shooting came alive. Krejci and Nance both hit multiple three-pointers and the Hawks opened up a double digit lead thanks to their ability to shoot from deep. Despite a buzzer beating shot from Portis, the Hawks led 36-26 after the first quarter and they were shooting 52% from the field and 50% (7-14) from three. Milwaukee was shooting 39% from the field and 30% (3-10) from three.

The first quarter was good, but the second quarter was an abject disaster for the Hawks. Milwaukee would outscore the Hawks 47-19 in the quarter and went from trailing by 12 to leading by 18 at the half 73-55. How did it happen? The Bucks caught fire from three and their bench outplayed the Hawks. Milwaukee hit their first nine threes of the quarter and opened the half on a 33-11 run. Gary Trent Jr scored 14 points in the quarter alone and the Buckd newest acquisition Kyle Kuzma had 12.

The story of the second quarter was Milwaukee going 11-15 from three and the Hawks going 1-8 from deep. If a team hits ten more threes than you in any quarter, that is probably the only stat that you need to know.

Atlanta shot 50% from the field in the first half and 36% from three. Young (11 points) and Okongwu (10 points) were the only Hawks players in double digits. Milwaukee shot 51% from the field and 56% from three. Trent Jr had 14 points, Portis had 16, and Kuzma had 12. Lillard (11) and Lopez (10) were also in double digits in scoring.

Trademark Icy and-1 pic.twitter.com/wnHq3HLJxX
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 8, 2025

The third quarter started better for Atlanta. Nearly five minutes in, the Hawks had outscored the Bucks 16-11 and if not for six more points from Portis (who couldn't miss), it might have been a closer game. Doc Rivers called a timeout with 7:14 left in the quarter and the Bucks lead had been cut to 13.

Dyson swipes, Zacch dunks pic.twitter.com/tHNYYNaqVg
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 8, 2025

The Hawks kept chopping away and pretty soon, they had the lead down to single digits. A 33-15 run for the Hawks tied the game and some more big plays from Gueye gave the Hawks the lead 92-90 heading into the fourth quarter. As bad as the second quarter was, they bounced back and outscored the Bucks 37-17 in the third, shooting 52% from the field and 43% from three. Milwaukee went cold in the quarter and only went 3-11 from deep, two of those being from Portis.

The Hawks opened up their lead to eight points with five minutes to go and looked like they were about to put the Bucks away, but a big 7-0 run in less than two minutes closed the lead to 106-105 with 3:33 left in the game.

Mo blocking everybody like they won't stay out of his mentions 😂☝️ pic.twitter.com/LWGpfQdJIE
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 8, 2025

The Hawks needed to close well and they did just that. Atlanta went on a 6-0 run out of the timeput to take a 112-105 lead. Milwaukee could not make it close enough and the Hawks went home with a 115-110 win, their second win in the last three games. Atlanta is now 24-28 heading into tomorrow's matchup against the Washington Wizards. It is still to be determined whether the Hawks get Clint Capela, Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, or Terance Mann tomorrow to give them some reinforcements. The Hawks have three road games before the All-Star Break and then a big stretch run to the end of the season and what they hope is a run to the playoffs.

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