Kent Bazemore and Mike Dunleavy Jr. turned in good offensive performances as the Atlanta Hawks got back on track Sunday with a 111-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks
Atlanta got off to a bit of a slow start defensively as the Bucks came out firing to take a 20-9 lead midway through the first quarter. However, the Hawks second unit once again gave them a spark.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. came off the bench midway through the first and picked up where he left off on Friday with with 10 points to get them back in the game. Atlanta continued to chip away and Paul Millsap netted a three-pointer at the first quarter horn to tie the score at 36-36.
The Hawks picked things up defensively in the second quarter closing off the paint and forcing the Bucks out to the perimeter. Milwaukee shot just 7 for 17 in the period and Atlanta outscored them 24-17 in the quarter to take a 60-53 advantage into halftime.
The Bucks came out quickly again to start the second half scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to tie the game prompting a Budenholzer timeout. Atlanta recovered thanks to an offensive outburst from Kent Bazemore who scored 13 of his team-high 24 points in the period to help stake Atlanta to an 88-83 lead heading to the fourth.
The Hawks kept it up in the fourth outscoring Milwaukee 23-15 to cruise home for the victory.
Dunleavy finished with 20 points including four made three-pointers. Paul Millsap added 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Dwight Howard logged another double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a big night with 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists but Atlanta was able to limit the damage from the rest of the Bucks. Jabari Parker narrowly missed out on a triple-double eight points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
The Hawks won’t get long to celebrate as they must travel to New York after the game and get set for a 1 p.m. tip against the Knicks on Monday.