Basketball: Hawks rookie Griffin shines as Bucks suffer first loss

LOS ANGELES – All good things must come to an end, and that was what the Milwaukee Bucks experienced on Monday night.

Rookie A.J. Griffin scored 24 points from the bench as the Atlanta Hawks ended the Bucks’ unbeaten start to the National Basketball Association (NBA) season with a 117-98 home victory.

Griffin was one of six Hawks players to score in double digits as Atlanta shrugged off the absence of star playmaker Trae Young to hand the Bucks their first defeat of the 2022-23 campaign.

“Before the game started, the coach said: ‘Believe’. I feel the whole team wanted more,” the 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.

“Coach told me to be ready early. Just to have that mindset, rise to the occasion, take the challenge. You know you put in the work.

“Credit to the coaches and my teammates to support me. Feeling like family.”

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.

But Atlanta recovered superbly after being outscored 36-25 in the first quarter before trailing by six points at half-time.

The game swung decisively in their favour in the third period as the Hawks’ scoring erupted with 37 points. Atlanta wrapped up victory with a 28-18 fourth quarter that saw the Hawks improve to 7-3 for the season.

Dejounte Murray led the Hawks’ scorers with 25 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.

But the real stars of the show for Atlanta 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.

Milwaukee’s scoring was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo with 25 points, while Jrue Holiday added 16 points.

“They got the best of us tonight,” Bucks forward Bobby Portis, who had 11 points, said.

“They made shots and spread the basketball around. They had more energy than us tonight. It showed.”

In other games on Monday, Joel Embiid drained a perfect 16-of-16 from the free-throw line in a 33-point display as the Philadelphia 76ers outgunned the Phoenix Suns 100-88.

Embiid’s shooting accuracy was backed by a red-hot contribution from Georges Niang off the bench, as he sank seven three-pointers in a 21-point contribution. Tobias Harris also scored 21 points for the Sixers.

Devin Booker led Phoenix’s scoring with 28 points while veteran playmaker Chris Paul hobbled off with a sore right heel. The Suns said later Paul was removed from the game as a precaution.

Embiid, meanwhile, was satisfied with his free-throw accuracy as he returned after a three-game absence due to illness.

“If they’re going to keep fouling me, I have to make my free throws,” he said.

In Memphis, Jayson Tatum’s 39-point display carried the Boston Celtics to a 109-106 victory over the Grizzlies.

Ja Morant scored 30 points for Memphis including five three-pointers, but Tatum’s dynamic performance sealed a battling win for the Celtics.

Jaylen Brown added 21 points for Boston, with Al Horford and Marcus Smart scoring 15 apiece. AFP