MILWAUKEE — Charlie Villanueva scored 27 points and Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions each had 20 to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks 110-107 Saturday night.
Mike Bibby led Atlanta with 24 points and Joe Johnson, picked as a reserve to the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the third consecutive season, scored 22, including the 10,000th of his career, but the Hawks failed to snap a three-game losing streak to the Bucks in Milwaukee.
On Friday, Johnson scored 29 points in Atlanta’s 105-88 victory over New Jersey which gave him 9,999 in his eighth year in the NBA.
The Bucks are 2-2 without scoring leader Michael Redd, who had a season-ending knee injury last Saturday against Sacramento. Bucks center Andrew Bogut played in his second consecutive game since missing eight with lower back spasms. He had nine points and six rebounds as head coach Scott Skiles limited him to 20 minutes or less.
Milwaukee improved to 17-2 at home against the Hawks since the 1998-99 season.
Sessions’ layup gave the Bucks a 106-98 lead with 1:10 left. The Hawks didn’t quit as Johnson, Marvin Williams and Josh Smith each had two points to close to 106-104 with seven seconds left.
Luke Ridnour and Jefferson each made a pair of free throws to keep Milwaukee ahead. Bibby hit a 3 at the buzzer.
The Hawks trimmed Milwaukee’s 14-point lead down to 97-92 when Flip Murray, who scored 18 points, capped a 16-7 run with a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner with 4:14 left. He had eight points during the burst.
Bogut came in late in the third with the Bucks ahead 76-69. He scored four points and had two steals and an assist in a 11-5 run that gave Milwaukee an 87-74 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Bucks built a big lead, but the Hawks fought back before the half.
Charlie Bell, who had 16 points, and Villanueva each scored seven points during a 20-2 tear that gave Milwaukee a 40-22 lead with 8:04 left in the second. But the momentum quickly switched to the Hawks. The Bucks made just four field goals while Murray sparked a 17-2 run with six points and Smith added six as Atlanta got to 53-48 at the half.
Notes: Bell sank a shot from near half court to end the first
quarter. … Hawks C Al Horford missed his 12th straight game with a bone bruise in his right knee. Atlanta is (5-6+) during his absence. … The Bucks, who finished January 9-9, led the NBA with five back-to-backs during the month.
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