Bucks take confidence from second-half surge

"Second half, we can build on that," Skiles said. "We were much better and were more like ourselves and competed the way we've been competing."

For the Hawks, it was another visit to their habit of turning potential blowouts into games like Saturday's, which went from a 24-point lead early in the third quarter to just seven at two different points.

Said coach Mike Woodson, "We can learn from this game, break this tape down and hopefully come out Tuesday and be better."

A key factor in the Hawks' decline in play in the second half was their inability to use center Al Horford and forward Josh Smith, who scored a combined 23 points in the first half, taking advantage of the absence of injured Bucks center Andrew Bogut. They took nine shots in the second half, making just two baskets for four points.

Milwaukee defended better, making it harder for Horford and Smith to set up close to the basket, but "we didn't utilize them enough," Woodson said. "We went to them a few times."

At the same time, Milwaukee turned around its game on the offensive end. The Hawks' energy and aggression made the Bucks passive in the first half, Skiles said, but the team pushed back after halftime.

In the third quarter, a 16-4 run cut the Hawks' lead from 66-42 to 70-58. Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings scored 10 of the points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

"He willed them back into the game with his play," Woodson said.

In the second half, the Bucks outshot the Hawks 52.5 percent to 44.1 percent, forced nine turnovers and outscored Atlanta in the paint 28-12.

"I feel like we have to come out with a little bit more intensity in the first quarter," Jennings said. "I think we were a little bit nervous."

The Hawks, of course, did ultimately fend off the Bucks' surges. Jamal Crawford stopped a 7-0 Bucks run that made the score 87-80 with 7:30 to play in the game. At 96-88, Horford hit a fadeaway jumper to push the lead to 10 points with 1:58 remaining.

It was not entirely dissimilar from Cleveland's playoff-opening win over Chicago earlier Saturday. The Bulls came from 22 points down to get within seven before faltering.

"When you get into playoff basketball, you can build big leads, but teams are going to make runs," Woodson said. "You're going to see that throughout the playoffs the rest of the way out."