Bucks at Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are doing everything they can to earn the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference and are among four teams fighting for the position. The Hawks will try to keep pace in that race when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Atlanta has won nine of its last 11 games and used a 25-5 run bridging the final two quarters on Wednesday to race to a 122-101 win at the Washington Wizards. The victory left the Hawks tied with the Boston Celtics for the No. 3 spot, a half-game ahead of the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets, with all four teams tied in the loss column. The Bucks are struggling to play spoiler with three straight losses but battled the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers into the fourth quarter in a 113-104 setback on Wednesday and are experimenting with different lineups down the stretch. Milwaukee used centers John Henson and Miles Plumlee at the same time against the Cavaliers and gave 11 different players at least two minutes.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (30-42): Henson and Plumlee each logged 20 or more minutes off the bench and Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd vowed to keep trying different groups on the floor. "I want to see those guys play," Kidd told reporters. "No matter what the score is, those guys have to find a way to score the ball. It might be a limited shooting group on the floor. I thought John (Henson) and Miles playing big-big, they played well together, being able to pass and look for each other.” One player who figures to get plenty of minutes every game is budding star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting on Wednesday.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (42-30): Atlanta fell at home to the Wizards on Monday but bounced back on Wednesday behind a season-high 17 3-pointers. Sharpshooter Kyle Korver scored all 15 of his points from beyond the arc and five different players hit multiple 3-pointers in the win. Dennis Schroder only nailed one 3-pointer but went 7-of-9 from the floor en route to 23 points and keyed the second-half rally with a combination of drives to the basket and pinpoint passes which resulted in eight assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks G Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 17.8 points in the last four games.
2. Bucks G Khris Middleton handed out a season-high 11 assists on Wednesday – two more than his total from the previous four games.
3. Milwaukee took each of the first two meetings this season, both in overtime.