National Basketball Association
Milwaukee 117, Atlanta 106
When: 3:30 PM ET, Sunday, October 29, 2017
Where: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Officials: #42 Eric Lewis, #70 Phenizee Ransom, #4 Sean Wright
Attendance: 14014

ATLANTA -- Khris Middleton's poor shooting from the floor has not been a concern for Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd.

He wasn't even bothered when the veteran forward made only two of his first 11 shots against Atlanta on Sunday. Be patient and keep firing, Kidd told him.

Things were different in the second half when Middleton shot 7-for-8 and scored a season-high 27 points to spark the Bucks to a 117-106 win over the Hawks at Philips Arena.

"He was getting open shots," Kidd said. "They just weren't dropping. Anytime you're a shooter, you've got to continue shooting."

Middleton, in his sixth season from Texas A&M, entered the game shooting 40 percent from the floor. He heeded the advice of teammate Jason Terry, an 18-year veteran, which was passed along as a golf analogy.

"(Terry) told him he need to change his club," Kidd said. "He told him to use his utility club. I thought he did a great job in the second half using the right club. We all believe in Khris, that he's going to make the right play. And as bad as he shot in the first half, he was still plus-26 on the stat sheet and almost had a triple-double."

Middleton stepped outside for his second-half success. He knocked down three 3-pointers in the second half and a pair of 21-foot jumpers. He also had seven rebounds, nine assists and two steals.

"He hit some big shots toward the end of the game when we needed them," Milwaukee guard Malcolm Brogdon said.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 33 points, his fifth 30-point game of the season, and picked up his fourth double-double. He was 14 of 21 from the field, one of them a 3-pointer, and added 12 rebounds and five assists to help the Bucks (4-2) bounce back from Thursday's loss to Boston.

The Bucks also got 16 points and four assists from Atlanta native Brogdon. Rashad Vaughn and John Henson both came off the bench to score 12.

Atlanta (1-6) got 21 points from point guard Dennis Schroder, who added eight assists and three steals.

Taurean Prince scored 17 points, 15 of those in the first half, with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kent Bazemore had 15 points and rookie John Collins came off the bench to add 14 points and seven rebounds.

"The numbers don't necessarily bear it out, but I thought it was one of Tauren's better games," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Just the way he was driving and attacking and using his body and body control. It was great to see him follow up a good game Friday with a good half."

The Bucks jumped out to a quick lead, with Antetokounmpo scoring the team's first nine points and staking Milwaukee to a 12-2 lead. The "Greek Freak" finished the first quarter with 13 points and the Bucks grabbed a 28-16 lead.

"They did a great job coming out with energy," Schroder said. "We didn't match it for the first five minutes."

Milwaukee continued to take advantage of Atlanta's cold shooting and stretched the lead to 23 points at 49-26 on Middleton's pull-up jumper with 7:03 left in the half.

"The guys executed the game plan, both offensively and defensively," Kidd said.

The Hawks began to warm up from the outside, particularly Prince, who had three 3-pointers in the half for 15 pounds.

Atlanta cut the lead to 13 at 61-48 when Mike Muscala made a 3-pointer.

Milwaukee regained momentum by scoring the first seven points of the third quarter. Atlanta drew as close at 15 points a couple of times, but the Bucks led 92-73 after three quarters.

The Hawks put together a fourth-quarter run behind Schroder, whose basket cut the lead to 11 points with 7:42 remaining. They never got within single digits.

"I think our guys are competing," Budenholzer said. "A couple of plays ... a shot here, better passing here or there ... but I like the way they're playing for the most part."

NOTES: Milwaukee G Malcolm Brogdon has scored in double figures in each of the five games he has played. F Khris Middleton has scored 15-plus in five straight games. ... Milwaukee has won its last two games against Atlanta. The teams will play two more times this season, both in Milwaukee. ... Inactive for Milwaukee were F Joel Bolomboy (G-League two-way), F Jabari Parker (left knee), G Gary Payton II (G-League two-way) and C Greg Monroe (left calf). Inactive for Atlanta were F Ersan Ilyasova (strained left knee), C Miles Plumlee (strained right quad) and F DeAndre Bembry (fractured right wrist). ... Milwaukee plays again Tuesday at home against Oklahoma City. Atlanta returns to the court at Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
 
Milwaukee   Atlanta
Giannis Antetokounmpo 33 Scoring Dennis Schroder 21
Khris Middleton 9 Assists Dennis Schroder 8
Giannis Antetokounmpo 11 Rebounds John Collins 7
Khris Middleton 6 Free Throws Made Kent Bazemore 10
Malcolm Brogdon 2 Steals Dennis Schroder 3
John Henson 3 Blocks John Collins 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Milwaukee 117 54.3 13-26 16-21 30 43 3 9 14
Atlanta 106 46.8 13-29 21-26 27 31 2 9 16
Upcoming Games
  • Atlanta will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Hawks have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .167 after a loss.
  • Milwaukee will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Bucks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.