An intriguing matchup in the Eastern Conference playoff race takes place in Milwaukee on Sunday night as the Bucks welcome the Atlanta Hawks for the fifth and final time this season.
Both sides have traded wins, splitting the series thus far 2-2, including an extra matchup in the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Atlanta comes in having lost two in a row following a three-game win streak. The Hawks fell on the road 122-112 to the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
“We really have to help each other, we’re undersized,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Our margin is not great. In the first quarter we were able to get stops and run, that’s the key for us.”
Atlanta is top three in the league in both steals (9.8) and deflections per game (19.0) along with second in pace (102.8).
Milwaukee has dropped three straight after falling at home to the New York Knicks 116-107 on Friday. The Bucks have gone 0-10 against New York, Boston and Cleveland — the top three teams in the East this season.
One player has come on recently in the absence of Damian Lillard: Ryan Rollins. The young guard has put up career-highs in consecutive games after he scored 20 on Friday. His emergence has been key as the Bucks continue to play without Lillard, who averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists before being sidelined with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf last week.
“He’s not a natural point guard, we don’t have one, that guy is Dame and he’s not here right now,” Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said. “Ryan has been absolutely wonderful for us. Defensively he’s been fantastic. He’s going downhill, finishing.”
The Bucks were efficient offensively against the Knicks, shooting 55 percent, and they rank fifth in the NBA in field-goal percentage (48.2) and third in 3-point percentage (38.2 percent).
However, the Knicks outperformed the Bucks on both the offensive glass (14-3) and turnovers (8-16).
“We shot 55 percent, you’re going to win a lot of games when you do that,” Rivers added. “It wasn’t just the turnovers or the offensive rebounds; it was the combination of those two things.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee with 30.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, while Brook Lopez is among the league leaders with 1.9 blocks per game.
Trae Young leads Atlanta with 24.1 points and 11.4 assists per contest, and Onyeka Okongwu averages a team-best 8.7 rebounds to go along with 13.1 points per game.
On the injury front, along with Lillard, Jericho Sims is out with a torn ligament in his thumb, while Bobby Portis remains suspended for violating the league’s anti-drug policy.
On Atlanta’s side, Keaton Wallace (shoulder) missed Thursday’s game.
The Hawks will be without Larry Nance Jr. (knee) for the remainder of the season, along with Jalen Johnson (labrum), Clint Capela (hand), and Kobe Bufkin (shoulder).
In the last matchup between these teams on March 4, Milwaukee won on the road 127-121.
Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 26 points, 12 boards and 10 assists while Kyle Kuzma added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Trae Young had 28 points and 13 assists for Atlanta.
The Bucks sit five games ahead of Atlanta in the sixth position of the Eastern Conference standings — the final spot that avoids the play-in tournament — with just two weeks remaining. However, the Hawks would gain the head-to-head tiebreaker over Milwaukee with a victory on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
