Box Score

MILWAUKEE -- The Bradley Center was a most happy madhouse. And then it was just a sadhouse.

In front of charged sellout crowd, the Bucks and Hawks slopped back and forth amid two first quarter Milwaukee shot clock violations and a few Atlanta airballs. But the home team carried a three point lead to halftime despite scoring 34 points in 24 minutes.

Then the Bucks came out of the halftime locker room with their right shoes on their left feet, their left shoes on their wrong feet, their shoelaces untied, and gum stuck on their soles and fingers. So it seemed. For seven minutes and fifty-seven seconds, they didn't score, as Atlanta ran off 19 straight to turn a four-point deficit into an insurmountable 15-point advantage. Because in a game like this, 15 was more like 25.

Talk about a buzzkill? This was buzzsuicide.

The Bucks tossed jumpers in the general vicinity of the hoop, some were open, some were contested, but none went in. It's not just that the shots didn't go in -- the team just didn't attack. If this was the last we see of this particular version of the Bucks in Milwaukee, it represented little of what we came to know and appreciate. They saved their worst for last.

Milwaukee made a fourth quarter run to inject life back into the BC which they had previously sucked out, skimming 10 points off the deficit to draw within 69-62, but Josh Smith (who listened to a "Josh Smith Sucks!" chant as the game wound down), blocked Jerry Stackhouse's reverse layup attempt and the Bucks just didn't have another push in them with the clock clicking toward a trip to Atlanta for Game 7.

There are no moral victories in the playoffs, but this sure was a demoralizing loss.

Not a good way to start the weekend in Milwaukee. Now it's about how they finish the weekend in Atlanta.

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Box Score

MILWAUKEE -- Oh, Deer. We have a series.

Two days later, the Bradley Center turned white instead of red, but it was still 688 miles away from Philips Arena, and the Bucks were still red-hot when they weren't white-hot.

Milwaukee maintained their exquisite shooting form from over the weekend, but this time they found it easier closer to the hoop. Having gone a long way to figure out how to exploit the fast, constantly-switching, often-stuffing Atlanta defense, the Bucks made wildly successful forays into the painted area, led by Brandon Jennings.

Yes, the rookie kid point guard who too often personified the team's struggles to score inside throughout the last six months went on the attack, driving his way to a team-high 23 points. Jennings made five shots at the rim, and no three-pointers. Jennings, Dan Gadzuric, you know, the usual suspects doing harm around the hoop. Meanwhile, Carlos Delfino co-starred with Jennings by pouring in threes (6-8) to help offset a hot outside shooting night by Atlanta (10-19 on threes).

Unlike Game 3, this one wasn't all rosey from tip. The Hawks rushed to a 12-6 start as Mike Bibby made a couple quick threes (familiar, much?), as the Bucks looked a tad nervous with the ball early. But by the end of the first quarter, Delfino had snapped out of a funk and into hero mode, Gadzuric had three points, and the Bucks had a lead -- and they wouldn't trail again. So while this was the first game within single digits, Milwaukee mostly owned it.

It's not like the Hawks didn't wake up for this one. Joe Johnson (29/9/4), Mike Bibby (5-7 on threes), Josh Smith (20/9), and Jamal Crawford (21 points off the bench) certainly came to play, and the road team shot well, particularly from outside (10-19 on threes). Which makes this win even more encouraging -- Atlanta didn't just show up in Milwaukee expecting to win (or concede a game), and Milwaukee wasn't any longer riding the high of hosting a playoff game for the first time in years. This was simply a matchup of two teams that look more and more like even matches.

After four games, the series is tied, and the Bucks have even outscored the Hawks by five points overall. Tonight's win guarantees a Game Six on Friday at the BC. Worst-case scenario is that they will be playing to force a Game 7. Best-case scenario is they are playing to close out the series.

Not bad scenarios.

But first there is a little 688 mile trip to Atlanta, where the Bucks have lost and lost and lost all three games this season. And where they will have to win eventually if they want to win the series. Sooner rather than later.

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Box Score

MILWAUKEE -- Every team starts every year with certain expectations. Considered individually, they make for nice thoughts. Taken collectively, there just aren't that many wins, playoff spots, and happy finishes to go around.

The Bucks have altered our expectations every step of the way through almost six months now, and the unique thing about that is that they are exceeding expectations, making us change what we think is possible, what we hope for, and what we consider to be realistic.

So with that in mind tonight is really just another night in a pleasantly unpredictable season.

Pinned to the bottom of the conference by most experts before the year, the Bucks marched into the playoffs. And once they got there, they naturally arrived with the lowest of expectations. And just as they sourly started the regular season in Philadelphia, they added reason to disbelieve by dropping two decisions in Atlanta in uninspiring fashion. Now tabbed a chic pick to get swept aside, Milwaukee came home and roused the crowd just as they did in the regular season home opener win over Detroit.

And while I predicted before the series the Bucks to steal this one and go down in five games, I can't say that I "expected" this result: an 18-point win that was more lopsided than that suggests. And now I can't say with much confidence that the Bucks will go down in five. Expectations, always-a-changin'. For the better.

The Hawks led this game 1-0 and the Bucks led every other score combination, including 93-65 with five and change to go. They built that 28-point cushion with a hot start by just about everyone, namely Brandon Jennings and John Salmons, who together made their first nine shots and combined for 22 points in a first quarter that was the exact opposite of the first quarter in Game One.

After watching the both the Heat and Bobcats go down 0-2 and then lose late leads at home, the Bucks built a big enough advantage to guarantee their playoff lives last a little longer than the aforementioned low Eastern Conference seeds sandwiched around them.

Of course, while the Bucks rocked the Hawks early and late, the road team did manage to close the gap a couple times in between. As fruitlessly as Milwaukee in Atlanta, but they did cut into the lead.

Up comfortably by 20 points 40 seconds before halftime, Joe Johnson got to the line and hit a couple free throws before Marvin Williams hit from outside. Originally awarded two points, a second look at halftime by the officials tacked on another point to make it 52-40. Then Johnson, ever the Bucks-killer, started the second half with a three-pointer before making two more free throws, trimming the lead to a rather manageable nine points at 54-45. That was the first time the lead fell to within single digits, and also the last time.

Carlos Delfino, who started the game by missing a corner three, had gone into the halftime locker room scoreless despite playing more minutes, 17, than any other Buck. He was 0-5 from the field, 0-2 on threes, and pretty much 0-for-the-series, really.

But after the Hawks got to within nine, Delfino sunk a corner three to push the lead to 12, and a couple minutes later he made another from the same place to go up 64-47. Plays of the game, and hopefully plays to get him going, because they need him on top of his game to have a chance to win more than a game.

The Bucks mostly cruised to this victory, making for a third straight double-digit difference in the series following regular season matchups that suggested closer games.

And while the games haven't been close, it's now a close series -- as close as possible after three games in fact. I'm not making predictions or forming expectations for Monday.

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