The Atlanta Hawks dominated the struggling Milwaukee Bucks to earn their fifth straight win on Wednesday night.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 23 points, Onyeka Okongwu had 21, while Jalen Johnson added 20 and nine assists as they move above .500 for the first since December.
The Hawks were 15-12 after a Dec. 14 victory over the Sixers, but lost their next seven games and had not owned a winning record since.
Atlanta outscored the Bucks 65-42 in the second, despite not having Jonathan Kuminga due to inflammation in his left knee.
The Bucks also played without Kevin Porter Jr. due to swelling in his right knee.
Milwaukee fell five games behind 10th-place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference standings, making the Bucks’ bid for a 10th straight playoff berth.
They have lost their last four games by a combined 97 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points in his second game since returning from a right calf strain that caused him to miss five weeks.
The two-time MVP received a technical foul for throwing the ball against the stanchion in frustration after a basket by Daniels that extended the cushion 121-103 with 4:20 left.
Ryan Rollins had 13 points and 12 assists for Milwaukee. Kyle Kuzma had 16 two nights after spending an entire 108-81 loss to the Boston Celtics on the bench.
The Bucks led 71-66 after the first half, in which each team shot at least 60% from the floor, but Milwaukee went ice cold, scoring just 2 points in the first 5:56 of the third quarter.
The Hawks pulled ahead for good by scoring the first 10 points of the third.
Both teams will play home games on Saturday: the Hawks host the Sixers, while the Bucks host the Jazz.
