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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Bucks didn't start to play like a
first-place team Sunday until there were about 10 minutes left.
That was enough to beat the Atlanta Hawks.
Ray Allen had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Sam Cassell added
22 points and 11 assists as the Bucks rallied win 105-98 Sunday.
"I've seen some pretty good Chicago Bulls teams do that a lot
to their opponents and just demoralize them," said Allen, whose
rebounding total tied his career high.
The Hawks, he added, "thought they had the game won, and all of
a sudden – Bam! – we turned on them."
The Bucks, who trailed by 17 points with about four minutes left
in the third quarter, won their fifth straight game and increased
their lead to 4 1/2 games over idle Charlotte in the Central Division.
"It's not the way you should play, but it's good to have the
talent to overcome when you do play like that," Milwaukee coach
George Karl said.
Tim Thomas scored 17 points and Glenn Robinson had 14 for the
Bucks, who made 24 of 27 free throws.
Atlanta's Toni Kukoc scored a season-high 31 points, including
19 in the first quarter. Alan Henderson had 18 points and 12
rebounds for the Hawks.
"Down the stretch, we let one-on-one situations take over
instead of playing team basketball," Kukoc said.
Milwaukee came back thanks to a 15-0 run early in the fourth
quarter. The Bucks took a 97-90 lead with 3:37 left on consecutive
3-pointers by Allen, Cassell and Thomas.
Two free throws by Kukoc with 3:22 left got Atlanta within five
points, but the Hawks couldn't get closer. They made just two field
goals in the last 10:35 of the game and had only three baskets in
the entire fourth quarter.
"We did a lot of good things, but there was that stretch that
was not very good," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said.
Atlanta dominated the third quarter. Two straight 3-pointers by
Jason Terry, his first baskets of the game, gave the Hawks a 73-61
lead with 8:33 left in the period.
After Milwaukee cut the margin to 75-67 on a field goal by
Robinson with 6:27 remaining, Atlanta went on a 9-0 run to take its
biggest lead of the game, 84-67 with 4:23 to play.
Milwaukee started its comeback with a 13-4 run to close out the
quarter trailing 88-80.
"We were running around with our heads cut off at one point,"
Allen said. "But we buckled down at the end."
Game notes
Kukoc was back in the starting lineup after missing
Friday's game against Toronto because of the flu. Chris Crawford
(sprained right ankle) and Lorenzen Wright (sprained right thumb)
did not play for the Hawks. ... Milwaukee sold out a fourth
consecutive game for the first time since moving into the Bradley
Center in 1988-89. ... The Bucks secured their fourth straight
month with a winning record, which also has not happened since that
season. ... The Bucks will play seven of their next eight games on
the road. ... Atlanta lost its ninth straight road game and third
overall. ... The Hawks are 1-20 when they allow 100 or more points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 102
Vancouver 92
Orlando 84
Indiana 82
Miami 88
San Antonio 83
Milwaukee 105
Atlanta 98
Boston 102
Chicago 98
Minnesota 105
New Jersey 91
LA Lakers 84
Sacramento 72
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