|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) -- George Karl had difficulty describing how the Milwaukee Bucks managed to beat the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
|  | | Ray Allen lofts up a shot before Dikembe Mutombo can get up for one of his five blocks. |
"I have no idea how we won the game," the Bucks coach said. "Sometimes life just isn't fair. They played better than we did in a lot of ways."
Sam Cassell scored 25 points and Ray Allen added 19 as Milwaukee
went on a 16-0 tear in the final five minutes for a 102-98 victory.
"We're happy to just be able to get on an airplane and go
home," Karl said. "I think we stole one."
The Hawks, who lost their seventh in a row, led 94-85 after Jason Terry hit a 20-foot jump shot with 5:13 remaining.
But Milwaukee rallied, and Scott Williams' dunk with 1:08 left made it 96-94, giving the Bucks their first lead since the second quarter.
The Bucks' big run ended with a pair of free throws by Cassell with 21.6 seconds to go.
"They led from the start. We got a run in the last two minutes and just won the game," Cassell said.
Terry led the Hawks with 35 points. Atlanta got 22 points and 18 rebounds from Dikembe Mutombo.
Lorenzen Wright scored 21 points and had 15 rebounds for the Hawks, who had only nine players available.
"That loss really hurts," Terry said. "That was probably the
best basketball we've played in a long time, and it hurts. It's
like having something in your hand, and somebody just takes it away
from you. Like the kid in the candy store whose mom tells him he
can't have it."
Allen hit a 3-pointer with 2:59 remaining to cut Atlanta's lead
to 94-92. His two free throws 1:22 later tied it. Allen scored 13
points in the fourth quarter on 4-for-5 shooting.
The Bucks, recovering from a 107-104 loss to Philadelphia on
Tuesday night, avoided losing three straight for the first time
since they lost a season-high four games Nov. 18-25.
"We wanted to make a statement after what happened in our last game," Allen said. "This was a game we needed to win. This was a team we were supposed to beat."
Milwaukee had won 11 of 13 before losing its last two. The Bucks
got 18 points from Glenn Robinson, including a big 3-pointer with
33 seconds remaining, and 18 from reserve Lindsey Hunter.
"If we had dropped this one, it would have come back to haunt
us," Robinson said. "We had to find a way to win it."
The Hawks begin a six-game West Coast trip Saturday in Seattle.
"I think there's a little bit of frustration when you play as
hard as we did the past two games," Mutombo said. "Nobody is
pleased to lose, but the effort is really great. I hope we can
continue to play as hard as we did today and make something happen.
Losing like we did is not fun."
Game notes
Ervin Johnson came off the bench to pull down a team-high 11 rebounds for Milwaukee. ... The Hawks, who placed guard Matt
Maloney back on the injured list with a strained right hand, also were without forward Roshown McLeod, who was sidelined with the flu. Atlanta has not signed a player to replace rookie forward Hanno Mottola, who was placed on the injured list Tuesday with a sprained left elbow.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
Milwaukee 102
Atlanta 98
Detroit 105
New Jersey 86
Orlando 114
LA Clippers 101
Philadelphia 112
LA Lakers 97
Phoenix 104
Minnesota 96
Utah 106
New York 90
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
George Karl Official Site
|
