On Saturday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his first triple-double of the year with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to help the Milwaukee Bucks defeat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 132-121.
For Milwaukee, Damian Lillard contributed 25 points and nine assists. In addition to Cameron Payne, who had a season-high 18 points off the bench, five other Bucks scored in double figures.
With 32 points, Trae Young led the way for Atlanta, followed by fellow backcourt player Dejounte Murray with 30. In addition, Young grabbed two steals and contributed 12 assists.
Clint Capela, who finished with a game-high 17 rebounds and 10 points, was a key player down low.
The attacks of both teams quickly got rolling, with Milwaukee scoring a season-high 42 points in the first quarter. But going into the second, the Bucks’ lead was only five.
At the half, the Bucks led 67-63. With Young and Murray accounting for 38 of Atlanta’s 63 points, Milwaukee had no answer for them. At the half, four Bucks players had scored in double figures, with Antetokounmpo leading the way with 15 points.
Offensively, the third quarter was more of the same, although it was a running quarter. With 7:35 remaining, Young made a 3-pointer to give Atlanta a six-point lead, causing them to surge past of their halftime deficit. After a 7-0 run by Milwaukee put them back up, 84-83, Atlanta countered with seven straight baskets of their own.
Milwaukee went into the fourth with a 99-98 advantage. With 10:41 remaining, Bogdan Bogdanovic made a three-pointer to give the Hawks a 103-101 lead, but Atlanta would only hold that advantage for the rest of the game.
Despite their two late-game ties, the Hawks were never able to seize the initiative. Malik Beasley scored five points during the Bucks’ decisive 13-2 run to seal the victory.
Milwaukee had a sizzling 42.4 percent 3-point shooting percentage and 59.6 percent field goal percentage. Atlanta’s percentages were 44.6 and 39.5, respectively.