Hawks vs Bucks preview: Atlanta looks to bounce back in Milwaukee

The Atlanta Hawks hope to pick up the pieces from Friday's blowout loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and get things headed back in the right direction on Saturday when the two teams square off again in Milwaukee.

The Bucks dominated Atlanta in just about every facet on Friday and cruised to a 30 point win. Jared Dudley went a perfect 10-10 from the field on his way to 24 points off the Milwaukee bench. The Bucks outscored the Hawks 34-20 in the second quarter and never really looked back.

After the game, Atlanta was left searching for answers. While Mike Budenholzer said that adjustments were possible, Friday's loss was mostly about the things his team didn't do. Atlanta shot 41 percent from the field but were just 4-23 from three-point range and finished the game with 23 turnovers.

That loss snapped a string of good wins by the Hawks where they had won 14 of 15 and five straight against playoff caliber competition.

To get back on track Saturday, the Hawks must take care of the basketball better. Milwaukee is among the league leaders in steals and do a great job of turning turnovers into points. The Bucks moved the ball really well in Friday's win but the Hawks must bring a better defensive focus into the rematch. Milwaukee shot 51 percent from the field in Friday's win and while their ball movement was crisp there were plenty of breakdowns by the Hawks defensively that led to great offensive looks for Milwaukee.

Pero Antic sat out Friday's game with an ankle injury. He was listed as probable on the team's injury report but Mike Budenholzer elected to give him another day to recover. He could be back in uniform for Saturday's game. Milwaukee was without both Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova on Friday. Their status for Saturday's rematch is unknown at this time.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, December 27, 8:30 p.m. ET

Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

TV: SportSouth

Radio: 92.9 "The Game" FM