Everyone knows the Hawks' rugged road to the playoffs will fall on the sturdy shoulders of captain and All-Star Joe Johnson and the rest of their starting five.

But there will be nights when they can't do it on their own, nights when the Hawks' reserves will have to be the difference between winning and losing.

Joey Ivansco / AJC (ENLARGE)

Zaza Pachulia, getting fouled by Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva, finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

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Such was the case Wednesday night, with Milwaukee in town and the Hawks trying to grind their way through the ugly end of a back-to-back set after a stinging loss in Chicago on Tuesday night.

The bench came through in a major way, providing 30 points above their season average in the Hawks' 115-96 victory at Philips Arena as they outscored their Bucks counterparts 41-16.

Josh Childress (20 points), Acie Law IV (10 points) and Zaza Pachulia (nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks) led the charge off the bench as Hawks coach Mike Woodson secured his 100th win.

"I think it was necessary to get the starters some rest just from the standpoint of making them more effective when they're in the game," Childress said. "This was a game we felt like we could win if we came out and hit them first, and of course, we came out a little sluggish. So we knew as a unit that we would have to provide a boost."

The Hawks (31-40) needed it against the Bucks, who got huge nights from Andrew Bogut (27 points, nine rebounds and three blocks) and Michael Redd (20 points) against the Hawks' starting unit, which logged numerous minutes against the Bulls on Tuesday.

Johnson played all 48 minutes against the Bulls, and Mike Bibby, who left Wednesday's game with a sprained left thumb with 11 minutes to play, played 43.

"The only way you're going to be a successful team in this league is if you can go to your bench," said Johnson, who led all scorers Wednesday with 28 points. "They definitely have to be productive in the rat race we're in now for the playoffs. And when they are, we're a totally different team."

The Hawks' bench averages only 19.6 points per game, but when they play as they did against the Bucks, the possibilities seem endless.

"This is a team game," Pachulia said. "Everybody has to play their role. Chils was great and Acie had to step in there for [Bibby] and finish things off. It's a long season and especially down this stretch, the starters have to definitely know they have some guys that have their back."

That bench crew, which hasn't had much time to develop any consistency with injuries affecting them early and a deal at the trade deadline scattering bodies and minutes all over the place, still doesn't have the complete trust of Woodson, hence the extended minutes for the starters on most nights.

"I've got to develop more confidence in those guys," Woodson said. "I thought Acie Law and Zaza came off the bench and gave us a big lift. And obviously Chils has been big for us all year."

Law might have to do it again Friday night against Chicago if Bibby's thumb doesn't respond well to treatment.

"Every guy on this bench knows that he's one play away from having to get out there and help this team," Law said. "We all knew that with those guys playing all those minutes and us being in a back-to-back situation we were going to be called upon, and we did the job."