Jabari Parker scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, lifting the Bucks past the inconsistent Atlanta Hawks 117-109 in double overtime on Saturday at Philips Arena.
Picked second overall by Milwaukee in the 2014 NBA Draft, Parker suffered a season-ending knee injury last December that curtailed his rookie year. Like the rest of the Bucks, he has been inconsistent for much of this season, but posted his second straight double-double on Saturday.
Point guard Michael Carter-Williams scored six straight points to open the second overtime, putting the Bucks up 111-105 with 3:21 to play. Atlanta didn’t score in the first four minutes of the second overtime, as the Milwaukee lead grew to 10.
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter, and forward Greg Monroe was productive in his new reserve role with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder had a big game with 25 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. He hit a high-arching floater over Parker with three seconds left to send the game into overtime, tied 94-94.
Forward Paul Millsap finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks (31-26), who lost at home for the second straight night.
Milwaukee (23-33) led 75-68 heading into the fourth quarter. Atlanta guard Kyle Korver hit a pair of three-pointers to open the fourth, and Millsap hit an inside bucket that put the Hawks ahead 82-81 lead with seven minutes left in regulation.
Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague hurt his left shoulder midway through the third quarter. Teague tied up Antetokounmpo underneath the basket, but came out of the scrum in pain and went straight back to the locker room with his right arm hanging at his side.
Teague was forced to come back out of the locker room for the jump ball, but was immediately taken back out of the game. He remained on the bench and re-entered the game midway through the fourth quarter, but did not play in the overtimes.
One day after surrendering 115 points in a loss to the depleted Miami Heat, the Hawks’ defense had trouble slowing down a Milwaukee team ranked near the bottom in the NBA in points per game. The Bucks started hot, shredding the defense and jumping out to an 18-9 lead, while getting layups, dunks and uncontested jumpers during a 31-point first quarter.
© Reuters
