Any given night. That was the case for the Milwaukee Bucks, as they soared to a 30-point win over the red-hot Atlanta Hawks who had won five straight games and 14 of their last 15.
The Bucks received major contributions from guard Jared Dudley, who came off the bench and poured in 24 points on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting. The Hawks were only down two points at the end of the first quarter, but Milwaukee got hot in the second and scored 34 points.
Six total Bucks players scored in double figures. Center Zaza Pachulia scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added on eight rebounds in his return to Atlanta. Pachulia spent nine seasons with the Hawks, from 2005-2013. The Bucks could not miss from the three-point line, as they shot 42 percent. Their costless throw shooting was also clutch at 82 percent.
For the Hawks, Paul Millsap led the way with a double-double, scoring 22 points and snatching 11 rebounds. Aside from Millsap, Al Horford and Jeff Teague were also in double figures with 13 and 12 points respectively.
This loss to Milwaukee will definitely be a wakeup call for Atlanta. The Hawks have racked up numerous key wins, but every team can win on any given night. It will be interesting to see how the game plan of each team changes, as they face each other again in Milwaukee on December 27th. The Hawks still stand at second in the East still at 21-8, and the Bucks improve to .500 at 15-15, which is sixth in the East.