Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks faced an uphill battle against the scorching Atlanta Hawks, who secured their ninth consecutive victory in a decisive matinee showdown at State Farm Arena. CJ McCollum, a familiar thorn in the Bucks' side this season, led the charge with 30 points for Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin's own Jalen Johnson dazzled with a 23-point triple-double. On the Bucks' side, Ryan Rollins made his mark with 22 points.
Game Recap
The Hawks jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, but the Bucks weren’t going down without a fight. Rollins sparked an 8-0 run with back-to-back threes, bringing Milwaukee within a point midway through the first quarter.
Bobby Portis then nailed a triple, extending the run to 11-0 and giving the Bucks their first lead, prompting an Atlanta timeout. As the quarter wound down, the two teams traded baskets, with the Hawks narrowly holding a 31-30 advantage after the first 12 minutes.
McCollum, heating up late in the first, carried his momentum into the second quarter. Although Portis kept Milwaukee within striking distance early on, the Bucks soon went cold.
Atlanta capitalized, hitting eight of their first 11 shots and mounting a 9-2 run. Rollins tried to keep Milwaukee in the game, but Nickeil Alexander-Walker continued to thwart their efforts, helping Atlanta extend their lead to 11.
A late surge from Kyle Kuzma cut the deficit to five, but the Hawks entered halftime up 60-52.
The third quarter began with a familiar struggle for Milwaukee: turnovers. Six giveaways in the first four minutes could have been disastrous, yet the Bucks only found themselves down by 11.
Despite momentarily closing the gap to five, the Hawks pushed their lead to 15. Milwaukee couldn’t get any closer than 12 as the quarter wound down, with Atlanta heading into the fourth leading 95-78, having led by as much as 20.
The Bucks' nine turnovers in the third were costly.
In the final quarter, the Hawks kept the Bucks at bay, not allowing them within 16 points early on. Kevin Porter Jr. contributed eight points in the first five minutes, but the Bucks couldn’t tighten up defensively.
A 12-1 run by Atlanta sealed the deal, with McCollum’s seventh three-pointer extending the lead to 22. Thanasis Antetokounmpo checked in as the game wound down, adding a highlight dunk, but the damage was done, with the Hawks stretching the lead to as much as 26.
One glaring stat was Milwaukee’s struggles on the boards, particularly offensive rebounds, where they trailed 13-2 at one point. Coupled with a season-high 23 turnovers and a 30-14 disparity in points off turnovers, the Bucks had too much to overcome against a red-hot Hawks squad.