The Atlanta Hawks rebounded from an ugly home loss to Dallas with a strong victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, 98-90, on Wednesday night.
The Hawks had given up a season-high 127 points to the Mavericks on Monday, and were determined not to repeat the performance. They throttled the Bucks through three and a half quarters, letting up in garbage time to make the final much closer than the game truly was.
Jeff Teague was great in this one, with 27 points and 11 assists to lead the Hawks. Al Horford was big down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and notching 15 rebounds. The rest of the Hawks helped clamp down on Milwaukee, holding them to just 37% shooting from the floor on the night.
Larry Sanders had 19 points and 15 rebounds in the middle for Milwaukee, while PG Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 21 points. J. J. Redick added 18 points off the bench. The Bucks' shooting woes, however, were personified by Monta Ellis, who made only two of 14 shots from the floor.
The win gives the Hawks (38-30) a little breathing room, as they sit in 5th place in the East but sit 3.5 games ahead of 8th place Milwaukee (34-33). While both teams are almost assured of playoff berths, positioning is important as only 7/5 games separate 2nd place and 8th place in the East.
First place at the moment goes to Miami (53-14), who came from behind to notch their 24th straight win last night.
The Hawks will next face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at Philips Arena.
Comments