Hawks Down Bucks 96-86, Take 2-0 Series Lead To Milwaukee

Peachtree Hoops: The Hawks Bench May Create Some Problems

While there was obviously plenty of good things to take away from Tuesday night's Hawks win over the Bucks (see: a 2-0 series advantage, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, etc.), there was one glaring concern, says our Hawks blog, Peachtree Hoops: then bench.

The Hawks were the better team tonight this much is clear, but with a bench that was borderline horrific, it may be safe to say that these starters, if pressed into 48 minutes, can win on the road, the playground, in the sheep house, and any and all of the foreign countries represented by the Bucks' players. Actually, check that, just put the front court in, and victory might be assured (mandatory Andrew Bogut missing caveat here). Watching those 15 and 10 minutes without Josh Smith and Al Horford respectively were painful, and while I have little doubt the bench will play slightly better in other games and oddly contorted Bucks layups will not go in quite as often next game, I know for a fact that blocked layups do not go in. No doubt always beats little doubt, and right now no doubt is up 2-0.

Visit Peachtree Hoops for more reaction to the Game 2 win.

Hawks 96, Bucks 86: Atlanta Has Five In Double-Digits, Takes 2-0 Series Lead Over Milwaukee

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 27 points, while Josh Smith and Al Horford each posted a double-double to help Atlanta cruise to a 96-86 victory over the Bucks in Game 2 over their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Smith just missed a triple-double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, and Horford added 20 points and 10 boards for Atlanta, which won the series opener at Philips Arena, 102-92, last Saturday.

Atlanta shot 47.5 percent from the floor and held Milwaukee to 4-of-24 shooting from three-point range to win going away.

John Salmons had a team-high 21 points for the Bucks, who received 13 points and 15 rebounds from Ersan Ilyasova and 15 points from fellow reserve Jerry Stackhouse.

Rookie of the Year candidate Brandon Jennings, coming off a 34-point effort in his postseason debut, was held to nine points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Game 3 of this set shifts to Milwaukee on Saturday.

The Hawks led by as many as 10 in the first quarter, and six straight points by Smith to end the frame resulted in a 28-20 lead for the hosts.

Unlike the series opener, Milwaukee stayed within striking distance in the second, scoring seven straight to open the stanza. After a Carlos Delfino bucket gave the Bucks a 32-30 edge three minutes in, Atlanta responded with an 11-2 run, capped by a Horford alley-oop slam.

The margin at the half was 52-46 in favor of the Hawks and jumped to 63-48 less than four minutes into the third following another strong Atlanta spurt powered by Marvin Williams and Smith.

Milwaukee, which trailed 76-62 with 12 minutes to play, got within single digits, 80-72, on back-to-back Salmons reverse layups with just over eight minutes remaining.

That was as close as the game got, with Johnson's three-pointer near the six- minute mark providing a 87-74 advantage.

It was a double-digit affair the rest of the way.

Atlanta went 2-1 against Milwaukee in the regular season. The two clubs met three times in the postseason back in the 1980s, with the Bucks taking two of the sets...Williams and Mike Bibby netted 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Hawks, who recorded 22 fastbreak points to Milwaukee's 10...Delfino had eight points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Bucks Hoping To Steal Game 2 In Atlanta Before Series Heads To Milwaukee

(Sports Network) - The Milwaukee Bucks will try to avoid falling in a 2-0 series hole when they face the Atlanta Hawks tonight in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Philips Arena.

Joe Johnson led a balanced scoring effort with 22 points on Saturday, as the Hawks jumped on the Bucks early and came away with a 102-92 decision in the opener of their set.

Veteran point guard Mike Bibby shot a brilliant 8-of-9 from the field for 19 points for Atlanta, which won the final four games of its regular season slate to capture the No. 3 seed in the East. Josh Smith tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

Jamal Crawford, playing in the playoffs for the first time in his 10-year career, netted 17 points for the Hawks, who shot a scorching 61.9 percent in the first half en route to a 22-point lead. Al Horford ended with 15 points and seven rebounds for Atlanta, which also received 12 points from Marvin Williams.

Star rookie Brandon Jennings led a valiant comeback for Milwaukee, helping cut the deficit to seven before the fourth quarter. Jennings, though, scored just two of his game-high 34 points in the final stanza.

"When you get into playoff basketball you can build big leads, but teams are going to make runs. You're going to see that throughout the playoffs," Hawks head coach Mike Woodson said. "Milwaukee made a heck of a run in the third quarter, and we countered the run."

John Salmons, the catalyst behind Milwaukee's first postseason appearance in four seasons, ended with 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting in the loss.

Without center Andrew Bogut, who is out with a broken hand and dislocated elbow suffered in a gruesome fall two weeks ago, the Bucks recorded just one block to Atlanta's 11.

Ersan Ilyasova chipped in 11 points for Milwaukee while Kurt Thomas, Bogut's replacement in the starting lineup, had four points and nine rebounds in the loss.

"They made some open shots early in the first quarter and we missed some. We got a little shell-shocked," Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said.

Atlanta went 2-1 against Milwaukee in the regular season. The two clubs met three times in the postseason back in the 1980s, with the Bucks taking two of the sets in '83-84 and '88-89. The Hawks lone win came in the '87-88 season.

Game 3 of this set is scheduled for Saturday in Milwaukee.