Giannis Scores 36 and Leads the Bucks Past Atlanta 122-113, Snapping Hawks Four-Game Winning Streak

The Atlanta Hawks four-game winning streak is now over and its largely because of a huge night from two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Hawks were without Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu tonight, leaving them shorthanded to deal with Giannis and it showed tonight. Atlanta had no answers for him all game and a poor second quarter from the Hawks offense gave Milwaukee a cushion for the rest of the game. After four really good games from the Hawks, this was the most disjointed they looked since their road trip.

Let's recap tonight's game in Atlanta.

The Hawks starting lineup was Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De'Andre Hunter, Vit Krejci, and Clint Capela. Johnson was questionable coming into the game, but he is going to miss another game. His next chance to play will be Monday in Chicago.

The first five on the floor for Milwaukee was Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez. Damian Lillard was out for tonight's game.

The Hawks came out of the gates firing tonight and after his 4-point performance against the Celtics on Thursday, Murray was leading the charge for Atlanta to start this game. He and Bogdanovic got the Hawks out to a 14-6 lead and the offense was rolling early. Murray would finish with 11 points in the quarter, along with four rebounds and two assists.

The Bucks have one of the top -ranked offenses in the NBA though and even without Damian Lillard, Milwaukee got going after getting down early. The Bucks got on a 8-0 run to tie the game at 14-14, but Hunter got an and one and nailed the free throw to put the Hawks back on top.

It wasn't Giannis who was doing the damage in the first quarter for the Bucks, it was Middleton, who Hawks fans will remember in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. Middleton got anything he wanted and finished the quarter with 12 points, two rebounds, and three assists.

The Hawks defense did not have an answer for Middleton or the Bucks offense. Milwaukee shot 59% in the first quarter and led 33-28 going to the second.

It was the usual Hawks bench rotation tonight. Garrison Matthews, Bruno Fernando, Trent Forrest, Wesley Matthews, and Dylan Windler all got in the game by early in the second quarter. Atlanta had only 10 players available to use tonight and they used each of them early.

The second quarter was ugly for the Hawks, especially on the offensive end.

Anytime you have to be matched up with Giannis, it is going to be a massive challenge. Without Onyeka Okongwu and Johnson, the Hawks did not have enough size to throw at him and make life difficult. He started to assert his will in the second quarter and the Hawks had no answers.

The Hawks also could not make a three-pointer either. Atlanta went 0-7 in the quarter shooting from deep and combining that with the end of the first quarter, they missed 11 in a row. Murray went quiet after a hot start and the Hawks trailed by as many asa 18 points. They cut it to 14 at the half and trailed 59-45.

Atlanta shot 36% from the field and 24% from three in the first half. Murray and Bogdanovic had 12 points each.

Milwaukee shot 51% from the field and 30% from three. Giannis had a first half double-double with 15 poitnts and 10 rebounds, as well as being 7-9 from the free throw line. Bobby Portis came off the bench had gave the Bucks 10 points.

The second half started much like the second quarter ended. Giannis could not be stopped and the Bucks were getting him the ball on every possession and he was attacking the rim. The Bucks got the lead up to 21 and it was starting to look like the win streak might end with a blowout.

But the Hawks offense finally started hitting some shots and they got some stops on the other end. The Hawks hit four of their first seven three-point attempts in the quarter and cut the lead to 12, 77-65, with 4:19 left in the quarter.

Giannis and the Bucks would respond though and anytime it looked like Atlanta was making headway in cutting into the lead, the Bucks answered. Milwaukee led 89-74 at the end of the third and it was going to take a big fourth quarter for the Hawks to have a chance.

In the third quarter, Giannis had 16 points alone. The Hawks shot 5-9 from three, but they had no answers for Antetokounmpo.

The fourth quarter got chippy at the start. With the Hakws trailing by 13, Bruno Fernando hit a big bucket and was fouled. He got right in Patrick Beverley's face afterwards and Beverley shoved him. Both players received a technical foul and Fernando hit his free throw to cut it to 10.

After their scuffle, the Hawks team was energized and they kept coming at the Bucks. Hunter would hit a three to cut the lead to eight and then after a Bucks miss, Bogdanovic nailed a corner three to cut the lead to five. The crowd was going crazy and the Hawks had momentum for the first time in a while.

It did not last though.

After a slow second and third quarter, Middleton came out of the timeout and hit a three to get the lead back to eight then after a Hawks miss, Lopez drilled a three to make it an 11-point game. After the Hawks grabbed momentum, Milwaukee seized it back. With 5:41 left in the game, Milwaukee led 104-94.

After the timeout, the teams exchanged a few baskets. Bogdanovic hit a mid-range shot to cut it to eight, the Beverley hit a floater to get the game back to 10. After an and one from Giannis, Capela got a dunk, the Hawks forced a shot clock violation, then Capela hit a hook shot to cut the lead to 109-101 with 3:25 left.

After the timeout though, Milwaukee sealed the game. Antetokounmpo hit a layup and then after a charge on Murray, Malik Beasley nailed a three and the Bucks went up 13 with 1:51 left in the game.

Atlanta kept battling, but Giannis and the Bucks were too much. The Hawks winning streak was broked and they will head to a very important matchup with the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

For the game, Atlanta shot 46% from the field and 40% from three. They got a great game brom Bogdanovic, who finished with 38 points. It was an off game from Dejounte Murray, who shot 7-19 and scored 20 points. The only other Hawks in double-figures were De'Andre Hunter (13), Capela (10), and Fernando (10).

Milwaukee shot 55% from the field and 28% from three. It is hard to have a dominant night on offense in the NBA these days without great three-point shooting, but the Bucks have Giannis, a luxury other teams just don't have. He would finish with 36 points and 16 rebounds, Middleton with 21, and Beverley had 18.

With this loss, Atlanta is now one game behind the Bulls for the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago plays Minnesota tomorrow and if the Timberwolves win, the Hawks could go into Chicago and leapfrog the Bulls on Monday. The game will be at 8:00 in Chicago on Monday night.