Hawks at Bucks
A night after embarrassing an Eastern Conference contender on its home court, the Milwaukee Bucks will try to prove it was no fluke when they host the Atlanta Hawks in the second game of a home-and-home set Saturday. The Bucks clobbered the Hawks 107-77 Friday, getting a season-high 24 points from Jared Dudley. Atlanta will try to return the favor in Milwaukee, where it has won in its last four trips dating to March 2012.
The Bucks held a players-only meeting before Friday's game, and the message seemed to sink in as they turned in one of their best efforts of the season at both ends of the floor. "I think, yeah, any time the guys are disappointed in their performance, that shows you a team that cares," Dudley told reporters. The 30-point shellacking was the second-largest defeat for the Hawks this season — they lost by 33 to Cleveland before pounding the Cavaliers by 29 in the rematch a month later.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (21-8): Atlanta's season-low 77 points came out of nowhere, as the Hawks went 4-for-23 from 3-point range Friday after shooting 46.9 percent from outside while topping 100 points in four straight contests. The defensive effort also was out of character for the Hawks, who allowed better than 50 percent shooting for only the seventh time this season. Among the few bright spots for the Hawks was power forward Paul Millsap, who recorded his seventh double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, going 8-of-10 from the floor.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (15-15): Milwaukee has been one of the biggest surprises in the Eastern Conference, already matching last season's win total in coach Jason Kidd's first season at the helm. The Bucks used their 13th different starting lineup Friday but continue to get balanced scoring and great production from the bench, which contributed 54 points against the Hawks. That outburst came in spite of Milwaukee playing without center Larry Sanders (illness) and forward Ersan Ilyasova (concussion), who are day-to-day.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dudley has scored in double figures in a season-high four consecutive games.
2. Atlanta has made fewer than five 3-pointers only twice this season — in its 127-94 loss at Cleveland on Nov. 15 and in Friday's game.
3. Milwaukee is 9-0 when holding opponents under 90 points, while Atlanta is 15-1 when keeping the opposition under 100.