Hawks Fall to Bucks 122-117, Prince Drops 38 (Again)

In the final game the Atlanta Hawks will play in Milwaukee’s Bradley Center, the away team fell in a back-and-forth battle with the Bucks by a final margin of 122 to 117.

This was an action-packed, wacky game filled with fouls, wild plays, injuries, some jawing as well as some questionable plays from Milwaukee (bordering on disrespectful).

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Greek Freak, led the hometown Bucks in almost every major category and flirted with a triple-double by finishing with a stat line of 33 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in a team-high 39 minutes.

Though Jabari Parker logged two highlight dunks, Giannis’s all-around transcendence affected this game in many, many ways – perhaps infamously when he undercut John Collins on a three-point attempt, which led to a left ankle sprain. With insane athleticism and an ability to play in space one-on-one better than almost anyone in the league, the Greek Freak dominated the proceedings from start to finish.

Eric Bledsoe also impacted the Hawks’ efforts with his stout defense on any number of Atlanta ballhandlers, though mostly Dennis Schröder and Isaiah Taylor. He also didn’t seem to respect the Hawks, as he attempted a ludicrous and ridiculous alley-oop to himself off the backboard.

As noted by Bob Rathbun and Dominique Wilkins on the Hawks telecast (I’m paraphrasing): “Come on bruh, this isn’t a pickup game.”

Khris Middleton, the Bucks’ second-leading scorer for the season, finished with 23 points – 18 of which were scored in the final 7:36 of the 3^rd quarter.

Milwaukee did just enough to win, but they certainly didn’t play like a threatening playoff team on this night; though their players are supremely talented all over the court, the way they fit together is questionable at best, and some of those issues rose to the forefront against a young and inexperienced but hungry Hawks team.