Shock of the top 5 of the East with the arrival of the Bucks on the ground of the Hawks. A game, on paper, unbalanced due to the many absences on the Atlanta side, but the Georgia men showed they had enough heart to cope. We tell you all this in detail.
The house boxscore is here.
The infirmary is always full for Nate McMillan and last night, we still had to do without Trae Young, Cam Reddish, DeAndre Hunter, Tony Snell or Kris Dunn. Yet on the ground, no major bankruptcy to report. Milwaukee is in front of a good part of the match but the quality of the game is quite blah because of disjointed possessions, avoidable ball losses or even the brick contest that the two teams seem to be engaged in.. The Bucks are not flamboyant but we do not feel they are too worried about it. Atlanta remains in the game thanks to the Huerter-Bogdanovic duo but it is sorely lacking in aggressiveness (or whistle blows) to hope for better. Small figure to illustrate this observation: ZERO free throw at the break for the band at John Collins. The return of the locker room gives the locals a better face, but Giannis and his lieutenants are holding on. The commentators announce the color: if Atlanta stays alive until the money time, the end of the match could go completely crazy. The prediction is about to come true. Boss game end, fire money time, whatever expression you want to use as long as you mention Lou Williams and Bogdan Bogdanovic in. The Serbian was already very hot (32 points, 57% shooting and 56% Yvelines!) But he found a little playmate to launch into a Mad Horse over the last twelve minutes. 41-26 on the quarter-time including twenty-seven points just for the duo! The rain of 3-points they drop on the head of the Bucks quickly turns the end of the game into carnage. Lou Williams, next to his pumps for three acts, becomes again this human match that makes us so kiff to plant all of his fifteen points at the moment that matters the most. A victory with guts, pride, and therefore a deserved success.
Asterix fans will forgive us for the reference but the sky has fallen on the heads of Giannis and his friends who could only see the damage. Their match in itself was already not so reassuring but they totally sold off the money time. You can always tell there were two guys in the area in front and that can happen, of course. But in this case, how is it that the Hawks can find Bogdanovic all alone at 3 points on a simple rise of the ball without a system or the slightest screen when we are in a crucial moment? You have to be serious five minutes at a time. Apart from PJ Tucker, the bulk of the forces were there tonight and it is a defeat that is a bit difficult even if we do not forget the back-to-back of the day before, yet won easily. The Freak made his usual big numbers (31 points, 14 rebounds, 11/17 shooting) but the Bucks never managed to really create a gap that would have destroyed the hopes of the locals. They then paid him.
Atlanta got ripped off and they ultimately turned the Bucks over. Despite the absences, these Hawks continue to show that they do not let go and that they must be reckoned with until the last second. They stuck again in fourth place but remained behind the Knicks because of the tie-breaker. See you tomorrow for a trip to the Pistons.
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