Atlanta @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 13, 2018 ) Atlanta 92, Milwaukee 97

The Milwaukee Bucks find themselves in one of the final Eastern Conference playoff positions entering Saturday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks, but their coach was far from pleased with what he saw Wednesday in Orlando. The Bucks were defeated 126-117 by the Magic, trailing by 16 points after one quarter and leading head coach Joe Prunty to describe his team’s effort as “horrible.”

“They hit every shot in our face,” Prunty told reporters after the Bucks fell for the seventh time in the past 10 games. “You can’t give guys their shot. You have to get out, contest it, make them work to get their shots.” Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo comes in off his 11th 30-point/10-rebound game of the season, finishing with 38 points and 10 rebounds. Atlanta owns the worst record in the Eastern Conference and has lost five in a row following Thursday’s 129-117 home loss to Charlotte, getting 14 points from Damion Lee. “Hopefully we can learn from it and move forward to Saturday,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters afterward.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (20-49): Lee is the first rookie Atlanta player reach double figures in his first two NBA games in 27 years, but the battered Hawks continue to struggle. Leading scorer Dennis Schroder played Thursday with a sore elbow, as Tyler Dorsey – starting for Kent Bazemore (season-ending knee injury) – scored 11 points. Atlanta does not expect either forward De’Andre Bembry (abdomen) or guard Malcolm Delaney (ankle) to play Saturday as it opens a six-game road trip

ABOUT THE BUCKS (36-32): Guard Brandon Jennings scored just two points Wednesday, two nights after recording a double-double (16 points, 12 assists) in his first game of the season Monday. Antetokounmpo started the weekend third in scoring in the NBA at 27.3 points per game. Forward Khris Middleton continues his breakout season, averaging 20 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 35.1 percent from 3-point range.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Milwaukee won the first meeting of the season against Atlanta, a 117-106 road victory in which Middleton scored 21 points for the Bucks and Schroder led the Hawks with 18 points.

2. Atlanta has recorded an assist on 62.3 percent of its field goals this season, fourth-best in the league.

3. Bucks PG Eric Bledsoe ranks second in the NBA in steals per game (2.07) and has 13 games with four or more steals.

PREDICTION: Bucks 112, Hawks 101