It was an absolute tale of two halves Friday night at the Bradley Center, as the Hawks unleashed a ferocious comeback and stole one from the Bucks, 114-110.
Everything was going Milwaukee’s way to begin. After the score was deadlocked at 18 all with 2:35 in the opening quarter, a Michael Beasley 3-pointer created a 12-5 run to end the period with a 30-23 Bucks advantage.
The lead would soon stretch to double digits in favor of Milwaukee and then ballooned even more. By the end of the half, the Bucks found themselves up by 20 points, 64-44.
However, right out of the gates in the third quarter, Atlanta came out firing. By just the 7:45 mark, they sliced the lead in half to just ten. Baskets were traded for the ensuing possessions down the floor, but eventually, the Hawks broke through with a Dennis Schroeder 3-pointer with four minutes left in the period. The third quarter gave Atlanta confidence as they were able to post 40 points. They then used that to finish off the comeback in the final 12 minutes of action.
A Paul Millsap layup off a Dennis Schroeder assist with 4:13 of action remaining was the basket that tied the score up and from that point, the Hawks were too determined to look back. Milwaukee would not be able to regain the lead the rest of the game, led by Dennis Schroeder, who posted a game-high 33 points. It also marks a new career high for him.
The dagger came following an Atlanta timeout with 42 seconds left and the Bucks down 107-106. A beautiful play found Tim Hardaway Jr. in the baseline corner and he splashed home a three, pushing the lead to four at 110-106. Milwaukee would make an attempt with late-game desperation fouling, but to no avail.
For the Bucks, Jabari Parker led the team in scoring with 27 points. Michael Beasley, who fouled out in the third quarter, poured in 14 points off the bench, along with Greg Monroe. Giannis Antetokounmpo was unable to make much of an impact on the game as foul trouble hindered his ability to be on the floor most of the night.
The Bucks hop on the plane tonight for a matchup in our nation’s capitol tomorrow night against the Washington Wizards. They then head north for a meeting against the Toronto Raptors and then take on the Bulls in a home/away back-to-back matchup.