In the second night of a back-to-back, the Milwaukee Bucks were unable to get the job done at home against the Atlanta Hawks, falling 119-104.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead Milwaukee. Damian Lillard added 25 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 11 points off the bench. Taurean Prince, the league’s leading 3-point shooter had seven points in the first quarter for Milwaukee, but didn’t score again until late in the fourth, finishing with 10 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s scoring helped the Bucks immediately capture a spacious lead to kick things off. However, a run pieced together by the Hawks’ second-unit erased it all. Heading into the second quarter, they had flipped the script and carried a 38-35 lead.

The momentum that Atlanta earned to close out the first quarter continued into the second period. About midway through, they cracked open a double-digit advantage. Bogdan Bogdonovic unleashed quite the impact from the bench, splashing home a flurry of threes. At half, he had registered a then game-high 21 points. The Hawks maintained their double-digit lead going into the third at 70-59.

As we’ve seen multiple times this year, the Bucks looked as if they didn’t have a pulse to begin the second half. Atlanta embarked onto a momentous 7-0 run, forcing Doc Rivers to call a timeout to re-assess. Milwaukee was able to do some damage control by making it a single-digit game momentarily, but the Hawks regained a double-digit lead in no time. After three, they controlled things with a 99-87 lead.

The Bucks kept trying to land punches in the fourth, but just were unable to mount any type of legitimate comeback. Nothing they did tipped the tables in their favor, and Atlanta was able to put the final touches on a 119-104 victory.

The Bucks were clearly weary in this game. Doc Rivers made an interesting pre-game statement, saying that if the league wants to take the NBA Cup seriously, it should not schedule a back-to-back following. Looking at the damage Atlanta was able to inflict on the fast break, it was clear that the Bucks lacked the energy they usually provide. Atlanta had 30 points in that area compared to Milwaukee’s 12.