Hawks’ skid continues
MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo picked up his second straight double-double with 34 points and 13 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-97 on Friday night.
The Bucks, who have won 11 of 13 games, moved into a tie with Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks have lost six straight.
Atlanta had one last chance to tie before Ersan Ilyasova missed a contested 3 from the right wing with 0.2 seconds left with fans at the Bradley Center screaming “Fear the Deer!” Bucks fans are hoping their team can return to the playoffs after missing the postseason last year.
Dennis Schroder had 28 points for the Hawks.
Desperate to snap an extended losing skid, Atlanta went on a 13-2 run over the last 5 minutes of the second quarter to pull to 45-43 at halftime.
The teams traded leads 17 times and stayed within a bucket or two of each other most of the rest of the way in a second half that had the tense atmosphere of a playoff game.
But the Hawks couldn’t make buckets in the closing seconds.
Dwight Howard, a 52 percent shooter at the foul line, went 1 of 2 with 10.2 seconds left and his team trailing by two.
Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton hit two foul shots at the other end for the three-point lead that set up Atlanta’s failed final sequence.
Malcolm Brogdon added 14 points and seven assists for the Bucks, including two to Greg Monroe on crucial layups in the final 40 seconds.
Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr. (25 points) gave the Bucks fits in the second half. Schroder had 15 alone in the third quarter.
Tip ins
Hawks: F Paul Millsap, the team’s leading scorer (18.1 points) remained out with a right knee injury, while G Kent Bazemore (11.0 points) also sat again with left knee tightness. “We always pride ourselves on our defense and always start with our defense. I tend to think of both of those guys being great defensively,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. The Bucks shot 50 percent in the first quarter.
Bucks: Antetokounmpo had 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks in playing the entire first quarter, shooting 6 of 10 from the field. The All Star provided the energy that coach Jason Kidd was seeking early in the game with the team returning from a six-game road trip . ... Middleton (15.4 points) missed his first eight shots of the night before hitting a 15-foot jumper with 7:57 left in the game.
Up next
Hawks: Host the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Bucks: Host the Bulls in another game that could be important in the Eastern Conference playoff race.