Antetokounmpo, Monroe fuel Bucks past Hawks
MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks continued their charge up the Eastern Conference standings with a 100-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at the Bradley Center.
Antetokounmpo hit 13 of 22 shots, grabbed 13 rebounds and added five assists with three blocked shots for the Bucks, who also got 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Greg Monroe.
Milwaukee (37-35) shot 44.3 percent from the floor and made 8 of 27 3-pointers while turning the ball over just nine times.
Atlanta (37-35) received 28 points from Dennis Schroder, 25 from Tim Hardaway Jr. and 20 from Dwight Howard, but gave up 23 points on 17 rebounds and lost for the sixth consecutive game.
Antetokounmpo scored 17 in the opening quarter as Milwaukee hit 11 of 22 shots and three from distance to take a 29-21 lead. The Bucks led by as many as 13 in the opening half but Khris Middleton didn't record a point while the Hawks went 10-for-18 in the second to go into halftime only down a pair, 45-43.
It was neck-and-neck from there, with the teams trading the lead for much of the third quarter but buckets from Ersan Ilyasova and Schroder sent Atlanta into the fourth up, 74-72.
Milwaukee had a chance to take back the lead early in the final quarter, but missed 3-point attempts by Jason Terry and Middleton led to an empty possession.
Terry tied the game at 84 with a pair of free throws and Antetokounmpo hit an 18-footer to put the Bucks back in front. Atlanta turned it over on the other end and Malcolm Brogdon's tip-in of his own miss stretched the lead to four with 5:52 remaining.
Howard hit one of two free throws to stop the bleeding for Atlanta, but Antetokounmpo found Spencer Hawes for an easy dunk to put the Bucks up five.
The Hawks answered with a 7-2 run to go back up a pair. Brogdon's floated tied it at 92-all and Antetokounmpo gave the lead back to Milwaukee with 1:24 remaining.
After Middleton was stuffed on a driving layup attempt, Antetokounmpo made a leaping grab to tip a loose ball back into play. It swung around to Monroe who slammed it home from underneath to put Milwaukee ahead one more time.
Monroe would strike again, erasing an easy layup from Schroeder with a go-ahead slam. Howard missed one of two free throws to get the Hawks within one but Middleton -- 1-for-13 from the floor -- sank a pair on the other end to make it a three-point game with 9.1 seconds to play.
NOTES: The victory moved Milwaukee into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, though the Hawks, by virtue of a 3-1 record in the season series, hold the tie-breaker. But the Bucks did gain ground on Indiana and Detroit, the East's seventh and eighth-place squads. ... F Paul Millsap and SG Kent Bazemore were unavailable for the Hawks. Millsap has missed the last five games and Bazemore the last three, both with knee injuries. ... Bucks F John Henson was unavailable due to a wrist injury but Michael Beasley, out with a hyperextended left knee, could return next week, Bucks coach Jason Kidd said.