Hawks at Bucks
THE STORY: The Milwaukee Bucks will be playing their fifth game in six nights, but they may still be the fresher of the two teams when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. Atlanta is riding a four-game winning streak that included a four overtime victory over Utah on Sunday in the finale of a back-to-back-to-back. The Bucks, meanwhile, have dropped two straight to fall 2½ games behind the New York Knicks for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Hawks), FS Wisconsin (Bucks)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (30-20): Atlanta made it six wins in seven games with its marathon victory over the Jazz in the first four overtime game since November 1997. Joe Johnson busted out of a mini-slump with a season-high 37 points and Josh Smith continued his stellar play with 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was the fourth double-double in five games for Smith, who is averaging 29.0 and 12.0 rebounds during the winning streak. In 15 games this month, he has 12 20-point games and four 30-point contests.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (22-27): Milwaukee scored 28-second-half points and was limited to its lowest total since Feb. 3 in Monday’s 89-80 loss at New York. The starting backcourt continues to struggle since the acquisition of Monta Ellis in a trade with Golden State. Brandon Jennings had 15 points against New York – 10 in the final quarter – on 6-for-22 shooting and Ellis matched his season low with four points, only the second time he’s failed to score in double figures this season.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Atlanta remains percentage points ahead of Indiana for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
2. The Hawks have won three straight against Milwaukee, including both meetings this season.
3. The Bucks failed to reach 100 points for only the second time in 11 games on Monday.