Hawks lead wire to wire in beating Bucks, deal first loss of Milwaukee’s Lillard era
TRAE Young’s 20 points led eight Atlanta scorers in double figures, and the Hawks led wire to wire en route to a 127-110 rout over the host Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
Atlanta pounced early, building a 15-point lead less than nine minutes into the game.
Milwaukee cut the deficit to one early into the second quarter, but runs of 18-4 and 13-3 in the period put the Hawks firmly in control.
The visitors shot 47-of-93 from the floor, including 15-of-37 from 3-point range, led by Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 4-of-7.
Mr. Bogdanovic led three Hawks reserves in double figures with 17 points. Onyeka Okongwu added 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Saddiq Bey scored 13 points with nine rebounds.
All five Atlanta starters scored at least 12 points, including Clint Capela with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Dejounte Murray and De’Andre Hunter each scored 15 points, and Jalen Johnson went for 14 points and seven rebounds.
Mr. Young dished a game-high 11 assists, Mr. Bogdanovic had six assists and Mr. Murray had five assists.
Atlanta totaled 32 assists as a team to 22 for Milwaukee.
The Hawks successfully pushed the pace with 25 fast-break points to seven for the Bucks, successfully capitalizing in part on Milwaukee’s 23 turnovers.
The Atlanta lead reached 31 points midway through the fourth quarter thanks to a 16-2 outburst lasting a little more than three minutes. It came after Giannis Antetokounmpo had dunked home two of his game-high 26 points to pull the Bucks to within 17.
Damian Lillard suffered through his worst offensive performance since Nov. 5, 2021, when he shot 2-of-13 from the floor for four points.
On Sunday, Mr. Lillard went 2-of-12 for six points, and was scoreless until the second half. Malik Beasley scored 18 points, Brook Lopez had 13 points and Bobby Portis scored 12 points off the bench for the Bucks.
Mr. Antetokounmpo grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Milwaukee shot 39-of-86 from the floor, including 16-of-44 from 3-point range. — Field Level Medi
