Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ankle held, but Milwaukee’s castle fell

They didn’t have Pat Connaughton, Joe Ingles and Khris Middleton. They saw Grayson Allen, Wesley Matthews and Giannis Antetokounmpo get injured, and fatefully in the early hours of Tuesday (11/15) the Bucks suffered their first home loss of the year (106-121) after a seven-game winning streak. The Atlanta Hawks entered Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum with impressive determination, played good basketball, defeated the Stags for a fourth time this year (twice in friendlies and twice in official games) and moved even closer to the top of the East.

At 10-3, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s side (7-1 h, 3-2 a) who saw their leaders twist his left ankle very badly remain in the game but are likely to miss a few days. Overall, the Bucks weren’t looking well, but it’s now clear they’re waiting for the injured to return as they’re just another team without Holiday and Middleton. Rookie Marjon Beauchamp was outstanding for the third time in the last four games, but from there Jevon Carter went wide, Brook Lopez was a non-factor, Bobby Portis fouled early and the bench bet little.

At 9-5 the Hawks (5-2 home and 4-3 a) with Trae Young – De’Andre Hunter leading the lead, sharing shots and Nate McMillan was certainly pleased with the performance he gave for the Atlanta team performed. She only missed out on Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is recovering from knee surgery, but essentially went to the Fiserv Forum with a full squad and watched her starters score at least 16 points.

The Bucks’ next opponents are the Cleveland Cavaliers early Thursday morning (3:00 a.m.) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo’s account

He wasn’t at his best, with exactly a week between games against the Hawks, but Giannis pushed himself to the limit. The match didn’t go to his liking, he missed some baskets which he usually makes with his eyes closed, he also missed seven shots, he fouled in the second half and he won’t take credit for this game either for his own performance want to remember. but also for his teammates who didn’t really try hard in defence.

27 points
8/18 two points
0/3 three-hand
18.11 Recordings
8 setbacks
4 assists
1 steal
8 mistakes
6 fouls
10 earned fouls
-13 to +/-
48.2 USG%
at 30:55

48-56 points on racquet, 19-15 points on surprise, 33-22 points on substitute, 10-20 points on opponent’s errors, 16-20 points on second chances (offensive rebounds). The match was a tie, with the Hawks leading for most of the match.

The race

The Hawks went into the match with the gas on the floor. After all five starters scored, they built an eight-point lead (15-7) in the fourth minute before Milwaukee responded with a 13-2 run to take a three-point lead thanks to Carter’s efficiency and Beauchamp’s determination . Giannis had not found a rhythm, the game developed into a joy game with … Streaks and the Hawks finished the period +5 (29-24) as they had more points in the racquet (14-10), more surprised ( 7 -2 ) and all with 13/18 two-pointers, six assists, only two penalties and no shots.

After Portis committed three quick fouls, Giannis sprained his left ankle (he sat out the game) and Allen headed to the locker room to stay out the rest of the game, the Bucks just wanted to stay close for the second part to begin. They did it with Antetokounmpo wearing down his opponents, but as much as they tried to turn the game upside down, the Hawks found a way with pluralities and good ball movement to stay a safe distance until the 50-63 at halftime , in which she had 12 more baskets and 18 fewer shots.

And where at the beginning of the third period everyone was expecting the usual outburst from Giannis, the Hawks accelerated again, went to +18 (74-56) and showed that they will settle the match sovereignly. Botchamp’s efforts to keep Milwaukee in the game were touching, but the visitors never really posed a threat. With a score of 80:94 at the end of the twelve minutes, they saw the hosts on May 21st. with three points (3/3 Botchamp, 2/18 the rest), they hadn’t given away possession and were very much in the lead with their defense in good condition they kept control.

The Bucks wanted but couldn’t get back into the game in the fourth third. Giannis gave everything but committed his fifth foul in the middle of the 12 minutes and at the same time those around him didn’t have enough fuel to bring the difference to a reasonable level. Except for Botchamp who continued to do a great job, which of course wasn’t enough this year to worry even the very respectable Hawks. A team that says it wants to fight for the championship and so far shows that it is indeed strong.

THE DODECALPTA: 24-29, 50-63, 80-94, 106-121

MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Mike Budenholzer): Botchamp 20 (4/5 2-pointers, 3/4 3-pointers, 3/3 shots, 8 rebounds), Giannis Antetokounmpo 27 (8/18 2-pointers, 11/18 shots, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 8 turnovers), Lopez 12 (0/4 3-pointers, 6/7 shots, 5 rebounds), Allen 2, Carter 12 (4/11 shooting, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals), Hill 2, Noora 10 (2 3s, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Portis 14 (6/10 2s, 0/5 3s, 2/3 shots, 10 rebounds, 2 assists), Ibaka 5 (1), Matthews, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Mamukelaashvili 2

Atlantic hawks (Nate McMillan): Hunter 24 (2 3-pointers, 10/10 shooting), Collins 16 (1 3-pointers, 9 rebounds), Capela 19 (9/11 2-pointers, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks) , Murray 19 (1 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, 5 assists), Young 21 (2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 9 assists), Aaron Holiday 4, Okongo 6, Griffin 7 (1), Johnson 5, Culver, Martin , Krejci

Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 28/53 2-pointers, 6/29 3-pointers, 32/41 shots, 58 rebounds, 21 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 15 turnovers, 26 fouls

Atlanta Hawks team stats: 37/72 2-pointers, 7/20 3-pointers, 26/30 shots, 51 rebounds, 23 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks, 9 turnovers, 23 fouls