The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday NBA Cup Semifinals this afternoon. Not only will the result of this match determine which team advances to the season tournament finals, but the 13-11 Bucks are narrowly ahead of the 14-12 Hawks in the Eastern Conference.
Fortunately for Milwaukee, the two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo he has had tremendous success against Atlanta in his career. He has been named the league’s MVP since 2016, when the Greek Freak made his first NBA All-Star team, and the Bucks are 19-12 against the Hawks in the regular season.
Based on the performances detailed below, it’s simple to see why.
5. November 20, 2019: Milwaukee Bucks 135, Atlanta Hawks 127
The Bucks improved to 11-3 in the 2019 season, defeating the Hawks 135-127. Giannisat that point, the NBA MVP guard had 33 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and a block.
Former Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe Sam had a good evening with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a block.
Brook Lopez (12 points), Donte DiVincenzo (11 points) and Wes Matthews (10 points) were the other players included in Milwaukee’s lineup on the night, and all recorded double-digit scoring outputs. Lopez added two blocks and two steals.
4. November 27, 2019: Milwaukee Bucks 111, Atlanta Hawks 102
A week later, the Bucks improved to 15-3 in November 2019, defeating Atlanta 111-102. Giannis led Milwaukee with 30 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Khris Middleton came off the bench in this game, as he did in the NBA Cup semifinals, and scored 16 points, adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Bledsoe had a productive night, scoring nine points, five rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. He also impressed defensively, recording two interceptions and two blocks.
Interestingly, Jabari Parker, drafted by Milwaukee, had a perfect game for Atlanta, scoring 33 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
3. April 25, 2021: Milwaukee Bucks 104, Atlanta Hawks 111
In what turned out to be a preview of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals that year, the Bucks fell to 37-23 on the season in which they lost to the Hawks 111-104.
However, Giannis had a great individual performance. The two-time NBA MVP had 31 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks.
Jrue Holiday had 19 points, five rebounds and 11 assists, and Middleton had 23 points.
In Trae Young’s absence, Atlanta was led by Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had 32 points, one rebound, three assists and three steals.
2. March 24, 2017: Milwaukee Bucks 100, Atlanta Hawks 97
In the middle of the 2016-17 NBA season that established him as a superstar, Giannis had one of his best games against Atlanta. After Milwaukee’s 100-97 victory, the Greek Freak scored 34 points (the most in his career against the Hawks), 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks.
Middleton scored just six points on 1-13 shooting, but former center Greg Monroe recorded a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) off the bench.
Starters Malcolm Brogdon (14 points) and Tony Snell (13 points) were the only other Bucks players to score in double figures.
1. March 17, 2018: Milwaukee Bucks 122, Atlanta Hawks 117
However, arguably Giannis’ best regular season performance against Atlanta came a year later in 2018. Milwaukee improved to 37-32 on the season (while the Hawks dropped to 20-50), and the Greek Freak had 33 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks.
Middleton added 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while Bledsoe had 19 points, three rebounds and nine assists.
Jabari Parker came off the bench for the Bucks in this game and scored 15 points.
Current Bucks starter Taurean Prince (who also leads the NBA in three-point percentage) actually led Atlanta in this game with 38 points, eight rebounds and an assist.
More Milwaukee Bucks news from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
For more great Wisconsin sports content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and stay up to date with Wisconsin sports news, click here!
