Hawks-Bucks Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jan 23 2012 12:00AM

The Atlanta Hawks have been struggling on the road. A favorable schedule on their upcoming trip could help them improve their record away from Philips Arena, but their first opponent is suddenly surging.

The Hawks open a five-game road trip Monday night when they visit a Milwaukee Bucks team coming off an impressive upset.

Atlanta (12-5) is off to a solid start, sitting percentage points behind Orlando for Southeast Division lead despite a 4-4 road record. Three of those victories have come against teams with losing records.

The Hawks will try to add some wins to that total during a five-game, nine-day road trip in which four of the games will be against opponents currently under .500.

The first of those opponents is Milwaukee (6-9), which played much better than its record in road upsets of New York and Miami over the weekend.

The Bucks, who were previously 0-8 away from home, defeated the Heat 91-82 on Sunday despite shooting 35.0 percent.

"Huge," guard Shaun Livingston said. "Especially for us being winless on the road and going 2-0 against two good teams, especially the quality team like the Heat, it's huge for your confidence."

The Bucks forced 47 turnovers on the trip while limiting Miami and the Knicks to 37.1 percent shooting from the field.

"Our defense was very, very good again," coach Scott Skiles said after Sunday's win. "When we needed a couple big plays, we were able to make them."

Atlanta has been making opposing defenses look good on the road. The Hawks have averaged 80.0 points while losing their last two games away from Philips Arena, including a 90-76 defeat to Philadelphia on Friday in which coach Larry Drew said the team "quit" in the second half.

Drew had little to complain about at home in a 121-94 victory over Cleveland on Saturday. The Hawks shot 55.4 percent and went 11 of 24 from 3-point range as Joe Johnson scored 25 points to lead six players in double figures.

"I thought from start to finish we were in an attack mode," Drew said. "You could see the aggression. You could see the energy."

Johnson, though, is averaging 14.5 points per game on the road - nearly eight fewer than he's averaging at home.

Milwaukee's Stephen Jackson, benched for Friday's game after missing that day's shootaround, came off the bench against the Heat and finished with 10 points in 26 minutes.

"The biggest thing is I hate not being out there and (Sunday) I was able to help my team," Jackson said.

Livingston replaced Jackson in the starting lineup on the trip and made a case he may belong there. Livingston had 10 points and five assists in Sunday's win after recording 18 points and shooting 7 of 10 against the Knicks.

Atlanta and Milwaukee split their four meetings last season, with each team winning once on the road.

Joe Johnson leads Hawks past Bucks 97-92

Posted Jan 24 2012 12:11AM

MILWAUKEE (AP) Joe Johnson helped the Atlanta Hawks start their five-game road trip with a big victory.

Johnson scored 14 of his season-high 28 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Hawks over the Milwaukee Bucks 97-92 on Monday night.

Trailing by four to start the fourth, the Bucks chipped away and caught the Hawks on a 3-pointer by Brandon Jennings, a free throw by Ersan Ilyasova and two from Mike Dunleavy that gave Milwaukee a 74-73 lead with 8:21 left.

"When they took the lead in the fourth quarter, it was a chance for us to see what we were made of," Hawks coach Larry Drew said of the Bucks' last gasp. "Our guys preserved."

The Hawks never let the lead get past four before Johnson led them back.

"I was just trying to pick my spots," he said. "It was a tough first three quarters for me. In the fourth, I didn't want to stop being aggressive and I wanted to take what the defense gave me."

His long jumper tied it at 84 and then his next two shots from in close pushed the lead to three. Drew Gooden hit a 3-pointer from deep in the corner, but Josh Smith answered a 3 that gave Atlanta the lead for good.

Drew said that he knew he could depend on Johnson to get the job done.

"He has been money," he said. "He's a guy we rely on a lot particular in those situations. He was really in a rhythm."

Johnson scored just four points in the first on 2-of-9 shooting. In the third, he started to find his stride, scoring 10 points.

"One thing I wanted to do in the second half was to get him into a rhythm," Drew said. "I had my mind made up I was going to leave him out there until he got into a good rhythm. He did that and he came up with some big shots."

Smith's 3 with under a minute to go was a pretty big shot, too.

The Hawks whipped the pass around the 3-point arc before it found Smith who calmly hit the shot.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles said that his team didn't cover real well on that play.

"We broke down a little bit, but Joe puts the pressure on you," he said. "He collapses the defense and he can see people. He made a nice pass out. (Jeff) Teague made a nice play, and Josh knocked it down."

Johnson, who came in averaging 18.6 points, was 10 of 22 from the floor and 8 for 8 from the line. He had five rebounds and two steals. Smith had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Teague added 15 points for Atlanta.

Smith was impressed with Johnson.

"This is the first game where I have seen him in a long time where they were just beating on him all night," Smith said. "He just showed so much resilience. He didn't stop playing. I was just glad to see our leader lead like that."

With the Bucks on the attack for the last time, Marvin Williams deflected a pass from Dunleavy and the Hawks came up with the loose ball. Milwaukee fouled Smith with 9.7 seconds left. He made the two free throws and after Jennings raced in for a driving layup for Milwaukee's final points, Johnson made two free throws for the final margin.

Jennings had 21 points and 11 assists to lead Milwaukee, and Dunleavy added a season-high 17 points.

Zaza Pachulia grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds for Atlanta.

Andrew Bogut had six points and 12 rebounds and Gooden added 13 points for Milwaukee, which hoped to build on the momentum of big victories on the road.

The Bucks, who started 0-8 away from home, won 100-86 at New York on Friday and then 91-82 at Miami on Sunday despite shooting 35.0 percent.

Trailing 70-64 after three quarters, the Bucks opened the fourth with a 10-3 surge.

Dunleavy started it with an eight-foot jumper and then capped it with two free throws that gave Milwaukee the lead at 74-73 with 8:21 left. It was the 18th lead change in the game.

The Bucks recovered from shooting 9 of 23 (39 percent) in the first quarter with an 11-of-22 effort (55 percent) in the second to tie the score at 48 as the half ended.

Teague scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting for Atlanta, which shot 54.5 percent in the first quarter.

NOTES: Hawks G Kirk Hinrich has missed 17 games (left shoulder surgery), but made the trip. He has been practicing hard, according to coach Larry Drew, and may return to action during the road trip. ... Oak Hill Academy (VA) was well represented at the game. Atlanta's Josh Smith and Jerry Stackhouse and Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings and Stephen Jackson all graduated from there. ... Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and his wife, Ellen, were in attendance.

Notebook: Hawks 97, Bucks 92

By Rick Braun, for NBA.com
Posted Monday January 23, 2012 11:42PM

THE FACTS: Joe Johnson scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half, and Josh Smith snapped an 88-88 tie with a 3-pointer with 41.9 seconds left, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 97-92 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.

QUOTABLE: "I think it all started when we started running this particular play called 'Princeton,' and I started getting in the lane. I was able to make plays for myself and my teammates and we started to get into a rhythm."
-- Johnson, who scored nine straight Atlanta points to turn an 83-79 deficit into an 88-85 lead.

THE STAT: The Hawks held the Bucks to 34.6 percent shooting (9 for 26) in the fourth quarter and outscored Milwaukee, 18-9, over the final 3:30.

TURNING POINT: Johnson had scored nine straight Hawks points to give his team an 88-85 lead when center Drew Gooden tied the game with just his seventh 3-pointer over the last seven seasons. Johnson again put the Atlanta offense. When he drew double-team coverage, he got the ball to Jeff Teague, who found Smith wide-open in the left corner for a 3-pointer that put the Hawks on top for good.

QUOTABLE II: "Joe is as good as they are offensively when he gets into a rhythm. He's a guy in those situations who we know we can really play off of him because he will not only make the shots, but he'll make the right play when he's double-teamed."
-- Hawks coach Larry Drew on Johnson.

HOT: Johnson's 10-for-22 night wasn't impressive, but his 8-for-13 second half also included an 8-for-8 performance from the free throw line.

NOT: Swingman Mike Dunleavy finished with 17 points for the Bucks, but he seemed snake-bit from behind the arc as several big shots rimmed out and he finished 0 for 5 on threes.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The Bucks had a moment of silence before the game for former broadcaster Jim Irwin, who died Monday. Irwin was the radio voice of the Bucks from 1978-'94 and was the radio voice of the Green Bay Packers from 1975-'99.

GOOD MOVE: Bucks coach Scott Skiles stuck with a lineup starter Brandon Jennings, reserves Drew Gooden, Mike Dunleavy, Stephen Jackson and Ersan Ilyasova throughout the fourth quarter, and that lineup got the Bucks to an 83-79 lead with 3:30 left.

BAD MOVE: Skiles felt that starters Andrew Bogut, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Shaun Livingston and Carlos Delfino had sat too long to come back strong for the closing 3 1/2 minutes and his lineup of Jennings and four reserves wilted over the final 3:30.

NOTABLE: Hawks guard Kirk Hinrich, who has missed all of the season thus far after off-season shoulder surgery, could see his first action of the season when the Hawks travel to San Antonio Wednesday. ... Bucks rookie Jon Leuer, who started the previous six games, was replaced in the starting lineup by Mbah a Moute and did not play. ... The game featured 19 lead changes. ... After winning their first four home games and losing their first eight road games, the Bucks have now won two straight on the road and lost two straight at home. ... The game was the first of a five-game road trip for the Hawks, who have won six of their last seven and 9 of their last 11.

UP NEXT: For the Hawks, Wednesday @ San Antonio, Friday @ Detroit, Sunday @ New Orleans. For the Bucks, Wednesday @ Houston, Friday @ Chicago, Saturday vs. Los Angeles Lakers.

• Hawks: Hinrich, Horford
• Bucks: Brockman, Hobson

• Hawks: --
• Bucks: --

• Lead Changes: 19
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
• Officials: #27 Dick Bavetta, #42 Eric Lewis, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 13048
• Duration: 2:03