Hawks at Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks have accomplished just about everything a team possibly can in the regular season, and now it is time to tune up for the playoffs - beginning with Sunday’s home contest against the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks, who lost to Brooklyn at home on Saturday, already have clinched the league’s best record, and the focus now is on making sure MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and key scoring option Khris Middleton are healthy as both have battled injuries down the stretch.
Antetokounmpo did not play Saturday as the Bucks elected to rest his sore left calf, while Middleton scored 24 points despite dealing with a sore groin. The Hawks have dropped three of their last five contests after being routed in Orlando on Friday, as they trailed by 29 in the first quarter of a 149-113 loss while allowing 81 first-half points. Trae Young led Atlanta with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists while several key Hawks – including guard Kevin Huerter and forward Kent Bazemore – did not play due to injuries. “They turned their defense up and everything that could go right for them did, and everything that could go wrong for us did,” Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce told the media afterward.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (29-51): John Collins scored 20 points on Friday – his fourth consecutive game in which he recorded 20-plus points – and on the season leads Atlanta in scoring at 19.5 points and rebounding at 9.5 per game. Young began Saturday leading the NBA in total assists (200) since the All-Star break, and the rookie is ninth in the Eastern Conference in that span in 3-pointers made (54). Alex Len has made multiple 3-pointers in five straight games and is averaging 15.4 points on 59.2 percent shooting in that span.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (59-21): Antetokounmpo is as critical to Milwaukee’s postseason hopes as anyone, considering he is third in the NBA in scoring (27.7 points), sixth in rebounding (12.5) and 19th in assists (5.9). Eric Bledsoe scored a team-high 33 points with 11 assists in Saturday’s defeat. Ersan Ilyasova played 25 minutes and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds despite suffering a broken nose in Thursday’s victory over Philadelphia.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hawks beat Milwaukee at home in overtime on March 31, winning 136-135 on Young’s basket at the buzzer as Antetokounmpo did not play.
2. Milwaukee entered Saturday leading the NBA in scoring at 118.1 points per game and rebounds at 49.6.
3. The Bucks end the regular season Wednesday at home against Oklahoma City.