The Milwaukee Bucks will host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, with both teams currently enjoying hot streaks.
The Bucks are coming off a 128-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons in NBA Cup action on Tuesday, securing a perfect 4-0 record in the tournament and advancing to the quarterfinals. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 28 points on a near-perfect 10-for-11 shooting performance, adding eight assists and seven rebounds. Damian Lillard contributed 27 points and five assists.
Milwaukee has won seven consecutive games and nine of their last ten after starting the season 2-8. As a result of advancing out of group play, the Bucks will host the Orlando Magic in the NBA Cup quarterfinals next Tuesday.
The Hawks have also made it to the quarterfinals, where they will face the Knicks in New York on December 11.
The Hawks have won four games in a row, most recently defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 124-112 at home on Monday night, bringing their season record to .500. De’Andre Hunter led Atlanta with 22 points off the bench, and all nine Hawks players who saw action scored at least eight points, with seven reaching double figures.
Trae Young narrowly leads the Hawks with an average of 20.9 points per game, while Jalen Johnson averages 20.0. Young’s 12.2 assists per game lead the NBA, and Johnson leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per game. Eight Hawks players are averaging double figures in scoring.
Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in points per game, averaging 32.7, and also tops the team in rebounds with 11.7 per game. Lillard averages 7.6 assists, and Brook Lopez adds 2.4 blocked shots per game.
On the injury front, Milwaukee was without MarJon Beauchamp (hamstring) and Khris Middleton (ankle) on Tuesday. Middleton has yet to make his season debut. The Bucks had not announced the injury status of their players as of Wednesday morning.
For the Hawks, Trae Young is probable for Wednesday night despite right Achilles tendinitis. Cody Zeller (personal reasons) is out.
The all-time series between these Eastern Conference rivals is nearly even, with Milwaukee holding a 119-117 advantage.
The season series has been closely contested in recent years. Milwaukee took two of three games last season after splitting 2-2 in 2022-23 and Atlanta took two of three in 2021-22.
Wednesday’s game will be the first of four matchups between the teams this season. They will meet again on February 7 and March 4 in Atlanta, and on March 30 in Milwaukee.
