Zaccharie Risacher scored 36 points and Trae Young added 19 points with 19 assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 145-124 win against the host Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night.
Atlanta snapped its two-game skid and is 4-2 in its last six games. Dyson Daniels added 22 points, while Georges Niang scored 17 for the Hawks, who hold a half-game lead over the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Milwaukee, which is 1 1/2 games behind the Detroit Pistons for the East’s No. 5 playoff spot, lost its fourth in a row and ninth in its last 13. Giannis Antetokounmpo led with 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field while Kevin Porter Jr. added 28 and Kyle Kuzma scored 25.
Milwaukee, which shot 47.6 percent from the field for the game, posted a nearly perfect offensive first quarter. The Bucks made 17 of 20 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, for a 44-37 lead.
The Bucks struggled on the defensive end in the opening frame, and those struggles continued. The Hawks scored 45 points in the second quarter, including a 14-5 run at the end to lead 82-75 at the break.
Niang had all 17 of his points in the second to lead Atlanta in the half along with 16 from Young. Antetokounmpo had 21 for the Bucks in the half, missing just two of his 11 attempts.
The Hawks’ momentum carried over, as they started the third on a 9-1 run. Atlanta dominated the third 36-17 and went into the fourth up 118-92.
The Bucks would find momentum in the fourth thanks in large part to Porter, who ame off the bench to score 20 in the final quarter.
However, the Hawks’ double-digit lead was never in danger as they led by as many as 27. Atlanta, which shot 53.2 percent from the field, scored 18 second-chance points and 28 points off Milwaukee’s 14 turnovers.
–Field Level Media
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