Hawks at Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks will try to avoid looking too far ahead when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday in head coach Mike Budenholzer's first game against his former team. The Bucks, who entered Thursday in a virtual tie atop the Eastern Conference with Toronto, host the Raptors on Saturday in the third of four meetings between the two front-runners.
Behind first-year coach Budenholzer, Milwaukee has won four in a row overall, is 3-0 on its six-game homestand and carries a league-best 17-3 home record into the matchup with the Hawks after a 121-98 dismantling of the Detroit Pistons on New Year's Day, the latest in a series of strong defensive efforts. "I'm so proud of the way our team's been handling business defensively over the last month or so," center Brook Lopez told reporters. "It's something we talked about probably 10, 12 games back and we've really responded well." The Hawks followed up a recent 5-1 surge with back-to-back losses to begin their three-game road trip. They received only 52 points from their starters in a 114-98 setback at Washington on Wednesday, falling to 5-16 on the road.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (11-26): Backup center Alex Len scored a season-high 24 points at Washington and he's averaging 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in 25.3 minutes over his last three games after missing two contests due to a back strain. "We've had opportunities for a couple of guys to increase their role," coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters of Len. "[Dewayne Dedmon's] been out the last two games and so Alex has been able to gain his rhythm back a little bit and you're seeing it out there tonight as well." Forward John Collins remains the steadying force for Atlanta and he has produced at least 20 points in 10 of 13 games since the start of December.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (26-10): Milwaukee has won by an average of 16.8 points during its four-game run and it received contributions from all over in the rout of the Pistons. All five starters scored at least 13 points in the win and the quintet combined to shoot 59.3 percent from the field, led by Lopez with 25 points. The veteran big man continues to fire away from the perimeter and is 14-for-27 from beyond the arc over the last two games, compared to just 1-for-3 on two-point attempts.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Budenholzer led Atlanta to a 213-197 record and four playoff appearances between 2013-18 before he was fired last April.
2. Bucks PF Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 27 points, 12.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in three games against the Hawks last season.
3. Atlanta PG Trae Young averages 7.4 assists but has at least nine of them in seven of his last 11 games.