Hawks avenge loss against Bucks, split home-and-home
The rare NBA home-and-home series between the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks ended with the least expected of results, with both road teams stealing a victory.
A day after the Bucks snapped the Hawks' five-game winning streak in Atlanta, the Hawks got their revenge with a 90-85 victory in Milwaukee on Saturday.
The key story note was similar to Friday, with the Bucks' lively defense giving the Hawks' normally lights-out offense fits. The Hawks scored just 77 points Friday and 90 on Saturday, producing below the bar they've set as the league's No. 11 offense through two months. The Bucks' defense happens to also rank 11th, with their length and ability to switch freely between positions frustrating the Hawks for long stretches.
And this without top rim protector Larry Sanders for both games. Moral victories only go so far, but the young Bucks are 15-16, contending for a playoff spot well ahead of schedule, and even losses like these are encouraging.
Credit Jeff Teague for staying aggressive and knifing through the Milwaukee length, as he finished with game-highs of 25 points and seven assists while also adding eight rebounds. Al Horford scored 20 points, too, but needed 20 field goal attempts to get there. Speaking to the Bucks' youth, length and ability to chase players around screens and switch off of them, Kyle Korver managed just six points, giving him nine over the two-game set. He's been good for 13 a night, so that lack of output is striking.
On the offensive side, Khris Middleton stepped up for Milwaukee with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, but the Bucks just didn't have the fire power to hang in late. They shot 38.8 percent from the floor as a team, surprisingly hitting better from long range (12-of-30 for 40 percent) from outside the arc than inside.
Oh, and Zaza Pachulia (11 points, 15 rebounds) had a double-double, which can apparently still happen here in late 2014.
With the win, the Hawks continue a ridiculous stretch of play that has them at 22-8 overall, just a game back of the top of the Eastern Conference. Only a narrow loss to Orlando on Dec. 13 and the blowout to Milwaukee on Friday stand between the Hawks and a 17-game winning streak. A 15-2 run is pretty good, too.