Milwaukee Uses Late 4th Quarter Run To Defeat Atlanta and Hand The Hawks Another Loss

The Hawks were facing tough circumstances tonight on the second night of a back-to-back with travel, but they let a win slip away at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Hawks took a lead over Milwaukee with 5:30 left in the game, but the Bucks then went on the biggest run of the game. The Bucks outscored the Hawks 11-2 to take a 121-113 lead, but Atlanta did tie it back up. Then, the shots just did not fall for Atlanta. Trae Young missed two shots and Georges Niang missed an open three in the final minutes of the game, which allowed Milwaukee to get the win.

It was a solid but not spectacular night for the Hawks on offense especially with the missed shots late. Atlanta shot 46% from the field and 39% from three. Trae Young led the Hawks with 28 points and 13 assists on 9-24 shooting and Caris LeVert had another big game off the bench, scoring 21 points and tying the game with a three late. Dyson Daniels stuffed the stat sheet again, scoring 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists tonight along with two steals. Mouhamed Gueye had a big night for the Hawks with 15 points on 4-6 shooting from three.

It was a tough night for everyone else. After scoring nine points and making an impact in the first half, Terance Mann was invisible the rest of the way. Atlanta only got seven points from Zaccharie Risacher, who shot 3-10 from the field and 1-6 from three, and not only did Niang miss a big shot at the end, but he was 3-11 from the field and 2-8 from three. Onyeka Okongwu had only six points and nine rebounds tonight. Atlanta only had three turnovers in the first half tonight, but nine second half turnovers helped tilt the game to Milwaukee in the second half. The Hawks got 49 points from their bench tonight.

Milwaukee of course got a big night from their superstar and MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. He finished witha triple double, scoring 26 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Damian Lillard finished with 23 points and the Bucks got an efficient night from Kyle Kuzma, who had 17 points on 7-10 shooting and 10 rebounds. While he was not a factor in the first half, Kevin Porter Jr had 12 points in the second half. Milwaukee shot 51% from the field and 30% from three. The big difference for the Bucks was they shot better inside the arc, going 38-59 (64%) while the Hawks were 30-60.

This loss drops Atlanta to 28-34 and they continue their long homestand this week with two matchups against the Indiana Pacers, with the first being on Thursday.

The Atlanta Hawks starting five was Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu. Milwaukee's first five was Damian Lillard, Taurean Prince, Kyle Kuzma, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez.

The Hawks announced at the start of the game that head coach Quin Snyder would not be coaching tonight due to flu-like symptoms. Igor Kokoskov served as the teams head coach tonight vs Milwaukee.

The Hawks defense has struggled mightily over the last three games and they did not get off to a good start tonight vs the Bucks. The Bucks scored 37 points in the first quarter, led by Lillard, who had 12. The good thing for the Hawks is that their offense (aside from their three point shot) was clicking right away tonight. Young was doing more scoring than assisting to start the game and had eight points in the first quarter. The Bucks led 37-33 after the first and the Hawks were allowing them to shoot 56% from the field and 42% from three. Atlanta was shooting 50% from the field, but just 29% from three.

Atlanta's offense stayed hot to open the second quarter. The Hawks started things off with a 10-2 run and the ball movement plus the pace was clearly hurting the Bucks. The Hawks grabbed a 43-39 lead at the 9:30 timeout.

The two teams would go back and forth for the rest of the quarter. The Hawks got a big boost from their bench in the quarter, with Terance Mann coming in to give them nine points and LeVert had four in the quarter. The game was tied 66-66 going into halftme.

Young led the Hawks with 16 points and five assists at the half, while the Hawks were shooting 48% from the field and 35% from three. Milwaukee shot 53% from the field and 35% from three, while Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Lillard had 14 points.

Two big things stood out for Atlanta at the half. They had 29 points from their bench and only turned the ball over three times.

Young would continue to lead the Hawks offense in the third quarter, but Atlanta started off with a turnover problem. After only turning it over three times in the entire first half, the Hawks turned it over five times in the first minutes of the third quarter.

The big difference for the Hawks in the third quarter was the three-point shooting. They were able to limit Milwaukee to 2-10 shooting from three, while shooting 5-9 themselves. The Hawks had the lead 95-92 going into the final quarter against Milwaukee.

Kevin Porter Jr got things going early for the Bucks in the 4th. He scored seven points off the bench, hitting his first three shots. Atlanta was 4-5 from the field and Milwaukee was 5-8 to start and the teams were tied 104-104 with 8:37 left.

After a Dyson Daniels steal and floater gave the Hawks the lead 111-110 with 5:30 left, the Bucks went on a 9-2 run to get control of the game with 3:35 left. Kuzma hit a three as the shot clock expired and the Hawks missed some easy shots around the rim. It turned into an 11-2 run for the Bucks to take a 121-113 lead.

Atlanta did respond though. The Hawks used an 8-0 run to tie the game at 121 but the Hawks would not score the rest of the game. A Giannis field goal gave the Bucks the lead and after a Trae Young miss Lillard hit a shot to make it 125-121. The Hawks had chances on their next possession but Young missed another shot and Niang missed an open three after an offensive rebound. That sealed the game and the Hawks lost at home to Milwaukee, despite outplaying the Bucks for a lot of the game.

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