Rookie A.J. Griffin on Monday scored 24 points from the bench as the Atlanta Hawks ended the Milwaukee Bucks’ unbeaten start to the NBA season, while Stephen Curry produced a 47-point masterpiece to snap the Golden State Warriors’ five-game losing streak.
Griffin was one of six Hawks players to make double digits as Atlanta shrugged off the absence of star playmaker Trae Young to hand the Bucks their first defeat of the 2022-2023 campaign.
The Bucks went into the game seeking a 10th straight win after a 9-0 start left them as the NBA’s only unbeaten team.
Photo: Brett Davis-USA TODAY
Atlanta recovered after being outscored 36-25 in the first quarter before trailing by six points at halftime.
The game swung decisively in Atlanta’s favor in the third period as the Hawks’ scoring erupted with 37 points.
Atlanta wrapped up a 117-98 victory with a 28-18 fourth quarter that saw the Hawks improve to 7-3 for the season.
Photo: John Hefti-USA TODAY
The stars of the show came from a potent bench led by teenage rookie Griffin, who combined for 59 points to set up the win. Justin Holiday drained four three-pointers in a 14-point contribution, while Onyeka Okongwu added 12.
“Before the game started, the coach said: ‘Believe.’ I feel the whole team wanted more,” 19-year-old Griffin said. “It was a great win. We knew the game plan — just pitch in and make sure we had each other’s back.”
In San Francisco, Golden State ended their five-game losing streak, after a brilliant fourth-quarter performance from Curry against the Sacramento Kings.
Curry scored 17 of his 47 points in the final frame as the Warriors outscored the Kings 37-25 to sneak a 116-113 win.
“Whatever it takes to get a win at this point,” Curry said. “There was a sense of desperation coming off that road trip struggling like we did ... we still can show that championship kind of grit and competitiveness to pull out a game like that.”
“We know how to do it — I just needed to light the fire a little bit,” he said.
In other Monday games, it was:
‧ Wizards 108, Hornets 100
‧ Rockets 134, Magic 127
‧ Pistons 112, Thunder 103
‧ Pacers 129, Pelicans 122
‧ 76ers 100, Suns 88
‧ Trail Blazers 110, Heat 107
‧ Bulls 111, Raptors 97
‧ Celtics 109, Grizzlies 106
‧ Knicks 120, Timberwolves 107
‧ Nuggets 115, Spurs 109
‧ Mavericks 96, Nets 94
‧ Jazz 139, Lakers 116
‧ Clippers 119, Cavaliers 117
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