RECAP: Atlanta's NBA Cup Run Ends in 110-102 Semifinals Loss to Milwaukee

Atlanta battled with the Bucks all game, but came up short in the end

Dec 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) controls the ball against Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. (5) during the fourth quarter in a semifinal of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Atlanta's surprise run in the NBA Cup has come to an end. The Hawks battled with the Milwaukee Bucks all night, but the offense could not muster enough in the fourth quarter to finish the job. Atlanta led by one going into the final period, but only scored 19 points and shot 31% from the field in the final quarter. Despite a fantastic game from star point guard Trae Young, Atlanta is not going to get a chance to face either the Rockets or the Thunder. Young had a near triple-double, finishing with 35 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds.

The Hawks defense did a really good job against the Bucks tonight, holding them to 45% shooting from the floor and only 31% from three. In their matchup 10 days ago, Atlanta held Milwaukee to similar shooting numbers and won the game. Tonight, their offense got in the way of another win. The Hawks shot 43% from the floor and 42% from three. While Young had a huge night, no other Hawk had more than 15 points. Jalen Johnson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but a poor first half kept him from making more of an impact. The Hawks bench was fine in this game, outscoring the Bucks 33-26, but Atlanta usually has bigger margins than that when it comes to bench scoring. After a string of great games, De'Andre Hunter had a tough shooting night tonight, going 5-16 from the floor. The Hawks also did not shoot well at the rim, having an off night there. Atlanta finished with a 99.0 offensive rating, which is well below what they need.

Milwaukee got big nights from their two biggest stars. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists tonight while Damian Lillard finished with 25 points. A big second half for Brook Lopez (10 points in the 2nd half, 16 for the game) on both ends of the floor was huge for Milwaukee.

The other big factor for the Hawks tonight was missed free throws. Atlanta had more free throw attempts than Milwaukee (34 to 27), but the Hawks only hit 22 of them. 12 missed free throws in a game you lose by eight points is meaningful.

While the Hawks run in the NBA Cup is over, they still look like they are building something special. The offense has a ways to go, but the Hawks defense has been really good as of late and that should not slow down. Atlanta gets a five-day break before they head to San Antonio next Thursday.

Both starting lineups were the same as the first matchup two weeks ago between these two teams. The Hawks went with Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela while the Bucks started Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson Jr, Taurean Prince, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez.

The first quarter was an ugly affair for both teams. The Hawks missed their first six shots of the game and Milwaukee got out to a 7-0 lead. The Hawks finally found their footing thanks to the league leader in assists. Young either scored or assisted on the Hawks first 15 points and Atlanta went on a 15-5 run to take a 15-12 lead. While Atlanta was struggling from the floor, they were getting to the line. Atlanta attempted 12 free throws in the first quarter, with eight of them coming from Young, while Milwaukee only had two attempts. In the first matchup ten days ago, Giannis was doing a great job early in the game getting to the foul line, but that was something that was different at the start of this game. The Hawks led 28-26 at the end of the first quarter despite shooting just 35% from the field and 33% from three. Milwaukee was struggling from behind the arc, shooting just 21% from three in the opening quarter

Nice 2-man game with Trae & CC pic.twitter.com/DWiW8p2VYd

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 14, 2024

Milwaukee's defense kept up their intensity on Atlanta though and their offense heated up to start the second quarter. The Bucks had a 12-0 run to start the second quarter and grabbed a 38-28 lead over Atlanta. Quin Snyder had to call a timeout to get his team settled down and that did the trick. Atlanta responded with an 11-3 run that cut the Bucks's lead to two points 41-39. Milwaukee continued to control the game though and led Atlanta 55-49 at the half.

Atlanta shot just 34% from the floor in the first half and 35% from three. Milwaukee had the advantage in shooting, as they went 44% in the first half, but they were a poor 27% from three. Atlanta maintained their advantage at the line in terms of attempts, but they were only 13-19 from the line. Young was the only player shooting welll from the free throw line. The Bucks held a 26-14 advantage in the paint. The Hawks love playing with pace and getting out in transition, but when they missed shots like they did, it allowed Antetokounmpo to get out and run and that is impossible for any team to stop.

Giannis had 14 points, eight rebounds, and five assists at the half. Young led the Hawks with 12 points and seven assists and Bogdanovic had 10 points off the bench (2-3 from three). Capela was huge defensively for the Hawks with three blocks.

CC said nah ☝️ pic.twitter.com/SWqe7ZfhzY

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 14, 2024

Atlanta led by one going into the final period, but only scored 19 points and shot 31% from the field in the final quarter. The offense went cold at the wrong time and while Milwaukee was not fantastic on offense, they got the job done and won the game 110-102. The Hawks NBA Cup run is now over, but there are plenty of positives to take from this run and the Hawks will look to continue to climb the Eastern Conference standings when they get back on the court.