The Bucks ended a bad three-game slide with a win on MLK Day over the Hawks in Atlanta. Not only do the Bucks hand the Hawks their fourth straight loss, but they also gain a game on them for the number 10 seed in the East. Milwaukee now just sits a half-game back of Atlanta. Giannis led the Bucks with 21 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists. Nickel Alexander-Walker (32) and Jalen Johnson (28) combined for 60 points for the Hawks, with Johnson also adding 16 rebounds and six assists.
Game Recap
The Bucks made a substantial change to their starting lineup, benching Kevin Porter Jr. for Kyle Kuzma, and it seemed to help the struggling Ryan Rollins find his shot early. Rollins hit back-to-back shots in the paint to give the Bucks a four-point lead. KPJ entered the game with 5:14 to go, and his first stint didn’t go too well, turning the ball over on one of his first possessions, leading to a Jalen Johnson dunk on the other end. In another tweak to the rotation, the rarely used Pete Nance got some run in the first quarter, and even found Bobby Portis for a short mid-range basket. That find gave the Bucks a 20-19 lead heading into the second quarter.
Atlanta was 0/13 from three-point range in the first quarter, and it kept going from there. They missed their first three attempts from deep to start the second, which allowed the Bucks to take advantage. Milwaukee went on a 10-0 run to build up a 12-point lead, thanks in large part to a couple of threes from AJ Green and Bobby Portis. The Hawks couldn’t buy a basket in the period, going on a 2:55 scoring drought until Luke Kennard hit a 13-footer. The Bucks continued to pour it on with a 7-2 burst, extending their lead to 18 points before Quinn Snyder called his second timeout of the quarter. The Hawks finally broke the lid on the three-point basket late, but they found themselves down by 16 at half, 54-38.
Atlanta’s long-range shooting began to wake up, and they started the third quarter 3/4 from three, but the Bucks shooters answered back, going 4/5. Myles Turner and Green hit three straight as part of the run to keep the Bucks ahead by double digits. That barrage got the Bucks up by 23, but the Hawks responded with a 10-0 run to get back into the game. They kept chipping away, extending that run to 18-4 to finally get it within single digits. Portis hit a hook shot to put them back up by 11, but with a chance to get the final shot of the quarter, the Bucks turned it over, and Nickel Alexander-Walker got fouled on a three-point attempt with one second left. He nailed all three free throws, cutting the Bucks’ lead down to 80-72 heading into the fourth quarter.
Nance continued to bring the energy that the Bucks have sorely needed. He collected his second steal of the game, and it took it coast-to-coast for a contested left-handed layup—his first basket of the year—and then hit his first three of the season later on. That put the Bucks up by 14, but they let the Hawks hang around. Alexander-Walker’s third three of the game brought them back within single digits with seven minutes left, prompting a timeout from Doc Rivers. Bobby and AJ came up huge down the stretch, as Green hit a three after CJ McCollum free throws, and Portis hit one after a Johnson three to give the Bucks the lead right back. NAW hit another triple to cut the lead to one with 12 seconds left. Rollins went 1/2 on at the line to put them up two, and McCollum had another chance to give the Bucks heartbreak. That didn’t happen this time, as Kuzma locked him down and forced the miss, helping the Bucks escape Atlanta.
Stat That Stood Out
We knew of the big change to the starting lineup coming into today’s game, with KPJ sent to the bench in favor of Kyle Kuzma. The surprise tweak to the rotation was seeing two-way big man Pete Nance get first-quarter minutes off the bench. In his first significant playing time of the season, Nance took advantage of his 15 minutes with five points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block, finishing second on the team in plus/minus at +13.
