For the second time this week, the Milwaukee Bucks blew a 16-point first-half lead and ended up getting blown out, this time to the Atlanta Hawks at Fiserv Forum, dealing a serious blow to their play-in hopes. Their losing streak is now at four games, and their average margin of defeat has been 24.2. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a game-high 24 points, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker paced Atlanta with 23.
Game Recap
Giannis scored eight of Milwaukee’s first 13 points with a couple dunks and swished
a 17-footer to boot. After his first career DNP-CD on Monday, Kyle Kuzma was the Bucks’ first sub as Giannis exited. Ousmane Dieng then got cooking, matching the superstar’s 10 points before he had to exit with two fouls. The second unit was able to separate, spearheading a 15-4 run over the first’s final five minutes. Thanks to 72.7% shooting from the floor (6/9 from three), the home side led 38-25 after one.
Bobby Portis maintained the Bucks’ momentum in the second, dropping their first seven points en route to an early 16-point edge. Atlanta sliced that to seven pretty fast with a 9-0 run, fueled by a couple bad Milwaukee turnovers. The Hawks got as close as two as a lineup led by Buck-killer CJ McCollum abused an all-bench Bucks fivesome, but a Ryan Rollins jumper and a Portis three kept the visitors at bay as Giannis checked back in. Unfortunately, the reassembled starters struggled mightily on defense. Despite continued Giannis production, Atlanta tied the game with 2:21 left in the half and moved in front about a minute later, capping off their 41-point quarter, one-upping Milwaukee with 74% shooting in the period. Milwaukee got triples from Rollins and Myles Turner in the final minute, though, heading into the locker room ahead 71-66.
As has been the case recently, the starters came out flat in the third as the Hawks retook the lead with a quick 10-0 run, featuring the 2025–26 Bucks’ greatest hits: bad defensive rebounding, turnovers, and missed free throws. Frigid shooting was a bigger problem, though: Milwaukee missed nine of their first 10 attempts, and Atlanta went up 10 at the 4:54 mark, on a 20-5 run out of half. The Hawks led by as many as 13 as the Bucks kept leaving shooters wide open, often in the corner, and couldn’t corral defensive boards. With 12 minutes remaining, the visitors held a 98-89 advantage, outscoring the Bucks 32-18 in the third.
While it was still too easy for the Hawks from deep with wide-open shots galore, the Bucks were only down seven when Giannis reentered at 9:23. Milwaukee defensive miscues didn’t end with him on the floor, nor did their inability to put the ball through the hoop, and they fell behind by 14 not even three minutes later. The starting lineup got one more crack at it but had no success, falling behind by as much as 21. The last 2:27 was garbage time.
Stat That Stood Out
On Sunday in Chicago, the Bucks scored just 31 points in the second half as the Bulls ran them over. Tonight, the Bucks had just 36 once the starters began checking out, totaling just 42 points after halftime. Unacceptable.
