Going into the Monday match-up vs. the Hawks, the Bucks were the only undefeated team in the league after starting the season with nine straight wins. However, after facing off against the Hawks without their superstar Trae Young, the Bucks are now 9-1. The game’s final score was 117-98, putting the Hawks at a record of 7-3.

The Atlanta Hawks came out prepared for the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks. The Hawks came into the game as the fourth-best defensive team in the league, and it showed. The Hawks forced the Bucks into 18 turnovers and did a great job containing the Bucks’ two best players, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday. Antetokounmpo finished with 25 points, but he shot 9-for-20 from the floor and had five turnovers. Holiday ended the game with only 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting and eight turnovers.

Without Young, I thought the Hawks would struggle to find enough offense to take down the Bucks. However, Dejounte Murray stepped up big for the offense and finished with 25 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, and three steals. Murray was phenomenal on both the offensive and defensive end of the court. The Hawks also got big help from their bench, who outscored the Bucks’ bench 59-33.

Hawks rookie AJ Griffin had the best game of his career thus far. Griffin has only scored 10 or more points once this season. However, on Monday night against the Bucks, Griffin scored 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting while adding three steals to his stat line. The Hawks needed one of their role players to step up big in Young’s absence, and Griffin filled it perfectly.

The Hawks look like a real threat in the East, and we could see an exciting seven-game series between these two teams in the future.