Milwaukee has Atlanta saying Oh Deer! in playoff series
Jan 29th, 2010 by Aaron Hotchner
Atlanta, 4/28/10
“Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in ATL ” the mighty Hawks are nearly out.
Apologies to Ernest Thayer for tailoring “Casey At The Bat slightly to suit my purposes, but his ode to Golden Age baseball came to mind upon considering Milwaukee’s 91-87 win. Just as Mudville’s denizens saw defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by the arrogant Casey, Atlanta’s home crowd witnessed a Hawks win vanish in the game’s waning minutes.
After a brutal elbow injury late in the regular season put Bucks’ center Andrew Bogut on ice, few expected Milwaukee to offer Atlanta much resistance. Leading three games to two though with game six played Friday night in Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings succinctly summed up the situation:
”The pressure’s not on us.”
He’s right. Beyond being right, Jennings is the main reason Atlanta finds itself staring elimination in the face. Averaging a shade under 20 per game (nearly five above his regular season average) this series, the rookie put up 25 Wednesday, leading all Milwaukee scorers. Swingman John Salmons chipped in 19, with six boards & five assists to boot. The Bucks also got a good job of work from guard Luke Ridnour, who accounted for 15 points & four steals.
Hawks center Al Horford turned in a supreme effort, combining 25 points & 11 rebounds with a pair of blocks. Marvin Williams notched 22 for Atlanta, getting Guatemalan Insanity Pepper hot enough to shoot 80% from the field &100% from the line. Usually dependable for 21 (or more) per game, Joe Johnson shot only 38% – and missed three 3-pointers, to end with 13.
Stats-wise, how hard fought a game this was is obvious. The teams tied in total rebounds & assists (39 & 16, respectively) while Atlanta had more blocks (eight to three) and more accuracy from the field than Milwaukee. For their part, the Bucks had more steals & fewer turnovers, and shot better from beyond the arc and from the line.
Given all the back & forth, that Atlanta accumulated a nine-point cushion with four minutes remaining should have signaled triumph. Between then & the end of the game however, the Bucks ratcheted up the defensive pressure, denying the Hawks a single basket until Horford scored with only 19 seconds left. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s offense hit on all cylinders, to the tune of 14 straight points. Their playoff future now in doubt, Sixth Man of the Year winner & Hawk Jamal Crawford said it best, expressing a sentiment probably shared by much of the city:
”This is incredible. We had the game won. It just slipped away from us.”