A look inside the Hawks’ 101-90 victory over the Bucks Friday:
Five observations
1. Teague time
In his own words, Jeff Teague “sucked” for three quarters. That was not the case in the fourth quarter. The Hawks point guard scored 12 points, including a run of eight straight, in the final period. The Hawks used an 18-8 run to take a 12-point lead into the final minutes. Game over.
“Jeff Teague stepped up in a big way,” Al Horford said.
2. Points in the paint
The Bucks came into the game No. 1 in the NBA in points in the paint at 50.3 per game. They Hawks outdid the Bucks 58-42 in the category. That was the strategy coming into the game – clog the middle and force the Bucks’ long and athletic players to shoot from the outside. Giannis Antetiokunmpo was held to 11 points of 5 of 14 shooting.
“It was defense tonight,” Kyle Korver said. “This is a team that has given us problems that past couple years with their size and their length. I thought our defense and trying to match their physicality was the key for us. Trying to pack the paint on them. Try to make them shoot more jump shots. They are a tough team for us to play against. They made a couple runs but I thought we stuck to what we wanted to do and scraped one out.”
3. No 3-ball today
The Hawks were miserable from 3-point range – and still won. A game after setting season-highs in makes (17) and attempts (42) from long range, the Hawks went just 5 of 32 from beyond the arc, a 15.6 percentage. The Bucks weren’t much better as they made just 3 of 13 3-pointers, a 23.1 percentage.
“We didn’t shoot it all that well and still found a way to get to 101 (points),” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
4. Millsap/Parker duel
The Hawks’ Paul Millsap and the Bucks’ Jabari Parker put on a first-quarter duel. Millsap scored eight of the Hawks’ first 10 points in the game, including the first six. Parker scored 10 of the Bucks’ first 12 points, including eight straight. Millsap got help from his teammates, Parker did not. The Hawks led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and took a 29-21 following the period. Millsap finished with 14 points. Parker finished with 19 points.
5. Closing in on the playoffs
The Hawks reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to four with the victory as they have won seven out of eight and 10 out of 12 games. The Hawks remain third in the crowded Eastern Conference and hold a half-game lead over the Celtics and Heat and a 1-1/2 game lead over the Hornets for the battle for spots 3-6.
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