The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 123-113 on Thursday at Abu Dhabi’s “Al Ittihad Arena” in a pre-season NBA game.
The two teams meet again in the second match on Saturday.
The two matches in the UAE capital are part of a years-long partnership between the National Basketball Association and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism.
Two countries have been identified for the preparatory matches, namely the United Arab Emirates and Japan, while Paris and Mexico City will host the matches in the regular season.
NBA teams have played more than 200 games in more than 20 countries outside the cities of the United States and Canada since 1978.
The game was exciting on the pitch and in the stands, and after falling behind by one point in the first quarter (32-33), Atlanta closed the first half in favor of 71-67, thanks to the brilliance of Degonte Murray ( 19 points) and Trae Young (16), while Greeks Yanis Antetokounmpo and Jevon brought Milwaukee’s Carter 14 points each in the first two quarters.
The Hawks continued control of the third quarter and finished 101-94, scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter, compared to 19 for the Bucks who decided the game in their favor.
Murray was the top scorer for Atlanta and the game with 25 points with 9 assists, Young added 22 points and Deandre Hunter (17).
As for Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo was the best with 19 points.
“It’s been a long time” since his last visit to the area, NFL commissioner Adam Silver told reporters before the game.
“We believe that, in the history of the NBA, we have had around 25 players from the Middle East and North Africa region,” he added.
“We hope we can continue playing games here and broadcast the games on TV … which will encourage more young, frankly boys and girls, whether they aspire to play in the NBA or the WTA, to keep playing.”
