Milwaukee @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 24, 2017 ) Atlanta 97, Milwaukee 100

The Atlanta Hawks played five games in a row on the road to begin the season and did not find home all that comforting when they finally returned on Friday. The Hawks will try to earn their first home win in their second opportunity when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

Atlanta welcomed back former franchise player Paul Millsap on Friday and could not stop his new team, the Denver Nuggets, in the fourth quarter en route to a fifth consecutive setback, 105-100. Millsap is one of several players to depart over the summer and the Hawks are enduring a rough transition without three of their top four scorers (Millsap, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dwight Howard) and best perimeter defender (Thabo Sefolosha) from 2016-17. The Bucks are beginning a stretch of five of six on the road after going 2-2 on a four-game homestand, including a 96-89 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday in their lowest-scoring performance of the season. "I thought the ball just didn't move tonight as it has in the first couple games," Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the loss. "It's a great lesson learned, we'll watch it (Friday) and understand how we've got to move the ball. We got some good looks but when the ball didn't move it wasn't a pretty game to watch."

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)

ABOUT THE BUCKS (3-2): Milwaukee is in every game because of 22-year-old star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 35 points on 62.4 percent shooting, 10.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.4 steals. Antetokounmpo suffered through his worst shooting performance of the young season with 28 points on 10-of-21 from the floor Thursday, but still impressed his teammates. "He's special," point guard Malcolm Brogdon told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of Antetokounmpo. "He's our leader; we follow his lead. But I think that sometimes we've got to help him, and we've got to be there for him like he's there for us. Continuing to trust each other and continuing to make sure it's a reciprocal relationship going forward, I think we'll be successful."

ABOUT THE HAWKS (1-5): Atlanta is building its offense around 24-year-old point guard Dennis Schroder, who became the unquestioned leader of the team when Millsap and company departed over the summer. Schroder missed two games with an ankle injury and returned at less than 100 percent on Friday but still managed 20 points and six assists in 33 minutes. “I played him a little bit more than I wanted to, or intended,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters of Schroder. “He never wants to come out. Considering he hasn’t played for five days and coming off a pretty good sprain, it’s impressive what he did. He wanted to be there for his teammates. He’s a tough guy, for sure.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hawks SG Marco Belinelli is 10-of-16 from 3-point range in the last two games.

2. Milwaukee SG Tony Snell is 15-of-23 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, in the last three contests.

3. Atlanta took three of the four meetings last season, including both on its home floor.

PREDICTION: Bucks 109, Hawks 96