Prince’s 38 points not enough for Hawks

Giannis AnteMILWAUKEE — tokounmpo had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Khris Middleton added 23 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks held on for a 122-117 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

The Bucks finished off the Eastern Conference’s worst team with a game-ending 11-5 run, pushing the pace after the Hawks lost point guard Dennis Schroder. Schroder fouled out with 2:46 left and was called for a technical foul after exchanging words

with an official on the way to the sideline.

Middleton hit the free throw that started the run. The Hawks looked rushed on their next two possessions with a turnover and a blocked shot.

Trailing by 13 at one point, Atlanta put up a spirited fight before losing its 50th game of the year. Taurean Prince, who had averaged 28.3 points over his previous three games, scored 38, and Schroder finished with 18.

Jabari Parker added 15 points off the bench for Milwaukee and tormented the Hawks with two dunks in the first half. Five weeks after returning from a knee injury, the fourth-year forward is showing he can once again serve as Antetokounmpo’s frontcourt running mate.

The Bucks needed this win to keep up in the crowded Eastern Conference play- off race after an ugly loss Wednesday at lowly Orlando.

Milwaukee had the early comeback, rallying from an 11-point deficit to take a 56-50 halftime lead after figuring out Atlanta’s effective pick-and-roll game.

The Bucks’ lengthy defenders poked balls away and held Atlanta to 2-of-7 shooting with six turnovers during a 13-3 run to come back from a 36-28 deficit early in the second quarter.

Hawks forward John Collins left in the third quarter with a sprained left ankle.