Bucks knock off Hawks in Atlanta, can win series Friday

• Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks

Talk about it

ATLANTA - The Milwaukee Bucks pulled off a 91-87 road victory at Atlanta last night. And the Bucks are just one win away from clinching their first NBA playoff series in nine years.

The Bucks were trailing by nine when they went on a 14-0 run in the final four minutes. John Salmons scored eight of his 19 points in that run. And Brandon Jennings made four free throws in the final 20 seconds to seal the victory. Jennings led the Bucks with 25 points. He said he had extra motivation, after learning that he won’t get the NBA’s rookie-of-the-year award today. It’s expected to be given to Tyreke Evans of Sacramento.

Milwaukee out-scored Atlanta 30-18 in the fourth quarter – and the Hawks never went to the free throw line in the period, while Milwaukee hit 15-of-18 from the stripe. The Bucks won despite being out-shot 43-to-40 percent. The Hawks committed four more turnovers. Al Horford had 25 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, which ended a 14-game home winning streak. High-scoring guard Joe Johnson was limited to 13 points. Josh Smith had nine rebounds but only seven points.

The Bucks are now up three-games-to-two in the best-of-seven series. Game-Six is tomorrow night at the Bradley Center. And a Bucks’ victory would give them their first playoff series win since the second round in 2001. The Bucks have lost three series since falling to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals in ’01.

Tags: wi sports, proam, basketball, bucks