Milwaukee routs Atlanta in coach’s return

Mike Budenholzer’s first game against the team he coached for five seasons was no contest.

Budenholzer’s Milwaukee Bucks rolled to a 33-point halftime lead and coasted to a 144-112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, and Khris Middleton scored 19 points while hitting all four of his 3-point attempts. Malcolm Brogdon also scored 19 points and point guard Eric Bledsoe added 14 points and eight assists.

Milwaukee (27-10) improved its NBA-best record and won for the ninth time in 10 games. The Bucks tied a season high for points in a game, equaling their total points against Sacramento on Nov. 4.

Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Milwaukee starters did not play in the fourth quarter and got some rest before the Bucks’ showdown with Toronto on Saturday night.

The Bucks shot 55 percent from the field and were 14 of 40 from 3-point range.

Budenholzer led the Hawks to the playoffs in four of his five seasons with the team and his 2014-15 squad won 60 games and reached the Eastern Conference finals.

DeAndre Bembry led Atlanta with 19 points.

CELTICS 114, MAVERICKS 93

In Boston, Gordon Hayward had 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and short-handed Boston beat Dallas.

Jayson Tatum added 18 points, and Al Horford had 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. The Celtics won easily despite playing their second straight game with star guard Kyrie Irving sidelined by scratched corneas.

Luka Doncic had 19 points and nine assists for Dallas. Harrison Barnes scored 20 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Dirk Nowitzki, who received two standing ovations, was scoreless and had two rebounds for Dallas. Celtics fans chanted “Dirk! Dirk!” in the final minute, hoping he would make a shot in what might have been his final appearance in Boston.

Hayward, coming off a season-high 35 points Wednesday night in a victory over Minnesota, was flirting with his first triple-double with the Celtics before going to the bench midway through the fourth quarter with Boston up by 22. /