Following tough battles on the road, the Milwaukee Bucks and the visiting Atlanta Hawks meet for the second time this season on Saturday night.
Milwaukee is coming off a loss Thursday to their nearby rival Chicago Bulls, falling in overtime 120-113 in Chicago.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 26 points and 14 rebounds while Damian Lillard added 18 points and 13 assists.
“They played extremely hard. We didn’t match their effort for the full 48,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “Give credit to them.”
Rebounding is a concern for Milwaukee following this loss in which they allowed 14 offensive boards and 17 points off of those.
“You can’t do that on the road,” Griffin added. “They just played with more effort and energy on the glass.”
Atlanta on the other hand was on the better end of a close, high-scoring battle Thursday, winning 137-135 in San Antonio against the Spurs.
Trae Young put on a show, scoring a season-high 45 points on 15-of-29 shooting while also racking up 14 assists. Dejounte Murray added 24 points, and the team had seven players score in double figures.
“I think our energy, the ball movement, it was contagious,” Young said. “It’s a long game, both teams will make runs, don’t let it affect you. We kept playing.”
Young’s coach started his new conference by praising Young, not for his offensive outburst, but for his game-winning drawn charge on the defensive end.
“Let’s go ahead and change the narrative right now,” Quin Snyder said. “That’s a big-time play. If there’s a commitment like that … we need to celebrate those plays as a team.”
Atlanta is led by Young with 26.8 points and 10.6 assists per game. Clint Capela leads the charge down low, averaging 9.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per night.
Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee with 29.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Lillard leads with 6.8 assists per night while Brook Lopez (2.7) trails only Victor Wembanyama, by a fraction, for the NBA lead in blocked shots per game.
Notably, the all-time series between these two teams is dead even at 117 wins. Last season the teams split their four-game set before this season when the Hawks came into Milwaukee Oct. 29 and won 127-110.
The Hawks also had a very balanced scoring attack in that game with eight players scoring in double figures. Young led the way with his 20 points and 11 assists in what was the Bucks’ second game and Hawks’ third this season.
That game against Atlanta also remains the only game in which Milwaukee has lost at home, winning each of their eight other home contests. Atlanta is 6-4 on the road.
Saturday will be the final leg of the Hawks’ current five-game road trip. Atlanta is 2-2.
Milwaukee saw its three-game win streak snapped Thursday. The Bucks’ next eight contests are at home, but that could be affected by the in-season tournament results on Friday.
–Field Level Media