Atlanta @ Milwaukee preview
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Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2024 ) Milwaukee 122, Atlanta 113
The Milwaukee Bucks will host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, with both teams experiencing hot stretches.
It will be the second night of a back-to-back set for the Bucks, who took care of the Pistons in Detroit 128-107 in NBA Cup action Tuesday to secure a 4-0 record in the tournament and advance to the quarterfinals.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points on nearly perfect 10-for-11 shooting from the floor while collecting eight assists and seven rebounds. Teammate Damian Lillard had 27 points and five assists.
"It's great -- they put a tournament in front of us, and we want to win it. We said that early on," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "We're 4-0, but we still have a lot of work to do."
The Bucks have won seven games in a row and nine of their past 10 after starting the season 2-8. As a result of advancing out of group play, the Bucks will host the Orlando Magic in the NBA Cup quarterfinals next Tuesday.
The Hawks also made it to the quarterfinals, where they will take on the Knicks in New York on Dec. 11.
The Hawks are winners of four games in a row, most recently 124-112 at home over New Orleans on Monday night. Atlanta has pulled to .500 for the season.
De'Andre Hunter came off the bench to lead Atlanta with 22 points, but all nine Hawks players who saw action had at least eight points, with seven scoring in double figures.
"We had a lot of guys that didn't shoot well, playing through that, that's something we've talked about," Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said. "It's hard; there's a natural tendency to be frustrated, but overcoming that is important. I feel we did that for the most part tonight."
Trae Young narrowly leads the Hawks with an average of 20.9 points per game while Jalen Johnson averages 20.0. Young's 12.2 assists lead the NBA while Johnson leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per game.
Eight Hawks average double figures in scoring.
Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in points per game, averaging 32.7 as well as a team-high 11.7 rebounds. Lillard averages 7.6 assists, and Brook Lopez adds 2.4 blocked shots per game.
On the injury front, Milwaukee was without MarJon Beauchamp (hamstring) and Khris Middleton (ankle) on Tuesday. Middleton has yet to make his season debut. The Bucks had not announced the injury status of their players as of Wednesday morning.
On the Hawks' side, Young is probable for Wednesday night despite right Achilles tendinitis. Cody Zeller (personal) is out.
The all-time series between these Eastern Conference rivals is nearly tied, with Milwaukee owning a 119-117 advantage.
The season series has gone back-and-forth as well. Milwaukee took two of three games a season ago after the teams split 2-2 in 2022-23 and Atlanta took two of three in 2021-22.
The Wednesday game will be the first of four matchups between the teams this season. They will play again Feb. 7 and March 4 in Atlanta, then March 30 in Milwaukee.
--Field Level Media