Hawks fall to Bucks after empty possessions down the stretch

After hitting the game-winner the night before, Hawks guard Caris LeVert hit a jumper at the rim before Mo Gueye split a pair of free throws and Dyson Daniels made a floater. Then Gueye rotated to help Onyeka Okongwu and met Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo at the rim and blocked his layup at the basket.

It set off the Hawks’ fast break, where guard Trae Young found LeVert for a 3 in the corner to tie the game.

But the Hawks missed their next three shots, including a pair of floaters from Young and a second-chance 3 from Georges Niang.

“Tonight’s game is not anybody but me,” Young said. “I got to make some more shots late in the game, and I got some looks, and can’t depend on the ref to do their job. So I got to, I got to be better, and I will be.”

2. Young had been in the midst of one of his more efficient outings before the night seemed to catch up with him. Young shot 50% from the floor in the first half, picking apart the Bucks’ defense on drives to the basket after shaking his primary defender, Taurean Prince or Gary Trent Jr. With 2:38 to play in the second quarter, Young used a screen from Niang to shake Trent free, before Okongwu sealed the space to give him an open look for a 3.

But in the second half, most of Young’s looks were on target. But the ones that did not fall were just slightly short.

Young got to the line though on his drive to the basket toward the end of the game. He finished the night perfect at the line, his third straight game making all of his free throws.

“This year, I think I’m down a little bit, but I’m not getting to the line as much too, and so when I do get there, I know I got to take advantage of it, and that’s just what I’ve done these last couple of games,” Young said. “And I need to keep doing that. I need to keep making my free throws, because right now it’s the only thing that’s going in and everything that’s going to go in here soon.”

3. Young though continued to find teammates as he has all season, dishing 13 assists. The world knows that Young has elite court vision and he connected with LeVert for another highlight play.

With 10:19 to play in the game, Young dribbled three-quarters down the court before he found LeVert way ahead. The ball went over the heads of Trent, Kyle Kuzma and AJ Green, who LeVert had cut behind.

It’s the second game in a row that LeVert has received a go-ahead pass and buried a layup. He sealed the Hawks’ win over the Grizzlies on Monday off a nearly full-court look from Daniels.

4. The Hawks want their players to shoot the ball with aggression. That mentality has instilled confidence in plenty of players and one of the more recent is Terance Mann, who knocked down a season-high four 3s.

5. With 19 games remaining in the regular season, the Hawks can’t take many moral victories. But they had a few factors stacked against them as they faced a team that could have a long postseason run.

The Hawks played a fresh Bucks team, who had been in Atlanta for at least two days, while they returned to the city from Memphis in the wee hours of the morning. They also faced the Bucks without coach Quin Snyder, who was unavailable because of flu-like symptoms.

“None of us knew until, literally, right before tipoff, I think after they announced our names and starting five, that he wasn’t going to be here,” Young said. “So, he was here earlier. So, it kind of surprised us, but we still had a game to play, and so we had to go out there and play. We couldn’t get the win for him, but yeah, it was definitely surprising.”

Stat to know

172 -- Dyson Daniels combined for 128 steals in first two seasons in the league. He already has 172 through 57 games this season.

Quotable

“He deserved it.” - Trae Young on Zaccharie Risacher winning rookie of the month.

Up next

The Hawks continue their homestand. They host the Pacers for the first of back-to-back meetings on Thursday at State Farm Arena.