turning around and directing a few terse words

ATLANTA -- Paul Millsap was proud of how well the Atlanta Hawks adjusted with Dwight Howard and Thabo Sefolosha unable to play because of injuries.We have a deep team, he said. It says a lot about our bench and what they bring, that they came in and did a great job and really set the tone for us, especially in the second quarter.Millsap scored 21 points, Mike Muscala added 16 and the Hawks won their sixth straight game, a 107-100 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Jabari Parker scored 15 of his 23 points in the third quarter for Milwaukee.Muscala started in place of Howard, who was sidelined with a left quadriceps contusion. The Hawks improved to 6-1 at home and tied Cleveland for the best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-2.Atlantas bench, led by 13 points from Tim Hardaway Jr., outscored the Bucks 35-25.The defense was amazing, Millsap said. The second group came in and moved the basketball. We played how were supposed to play.The Bucks, who have lost three of four, pulled within four points on Antetokounmpos dunk with 37 seconds remaining, but Millsap hit a layup on the next possession to make it 104-98.Milwaukee ended the first quarter with a 26-21 lead but missed their next 11 shots and didnt score until the 5:50 mark of the second. They were outscored 31-9 in the period and went 3 for 27 from the field.Atlanta took its biggest lead at 24 points on Dennis Schroders 3-pointer early in the third, but Milwaukee scored 35 points in the third quarter and pulled within six with 9:06 remaining on Mirza Teletovics third 3 of the period.It was definitely a character game for a young team to come back and put themselves in that position on the road, Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. With 4 minutes left, it was anybodys ballgame. Again, tip your hat to Atlanta. They made the shots and got the stops when they had to.Antetokounmpos layup cut the lead to three a couple of possessions later at the 6:24 mark. That was as close as the Bucks could get.Our backs were on the wall, so we had no other choice but to be aggressive if we wanted to try to make it close, Parker said. Those are still good habits to have leading into the next game. But we know from our mistakes that we cant play the first half like we did.The Hawks improved to 8-1 when leading after three quarters.Schroder and Kent Bazemore scored 12 points each for Atlanta.NEED THE RESTHoward was injured in the third quarter Tuesday at Miami, banging knees with Heat center Hassan Whiteside. He did not return and was unable to watch Wednesdays game from the bench.Howard, the active career NBA leader in double-doubles, is averaging 14.8 points and 12.3 rebounds. The eight-time All-Star in his first season with Atlanta.Sefolosha, a reserve forward and the teams best defender, did not play because of a strained right hamstring.His and Howards absence helped the Bucks outscore Atlanta 50-28 in the paint.SHOWING POTENTIALDuring a 6-minute stretch of Atlantas 19-0 run in the second, rookie forward Taurean Prince was the catalyst. He blocked two shots, drew a foul, made two free throws, had three rebounds, a steal and a hard baseline dunk.Prince, the NBAs No. 12 overall draft pick out of Baylor, finished with eight points and five rebounds in a career-high 19 minutes.I thought Taurean was great, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. Just the physicality he plays with, the aggressiveness he plays with, he really gave us a big boost on both ends of the floor.UP NEXTBucks: Visit Miami on Thursday.Hawks: Visit Charlotte on Friday.Yeezy From China . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. China Shoes Store . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. https://www.chinashoes.us/ . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. China Shoes . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Nike Shoes From China .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team.St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt has played down a verbal clash with a Western Bulldogs fan who touched him during Saturday nights AFL match at Etihad Stadium.Riewoldt reacted angrily after he was tapped on the shoulder during the fourth term of the game, turning around and directing a few terse words at the supporter.I just didnt expect to get touched. It caught me by surprise a little bit, Riewoldt told the Seven Network a day after his sides 15-point win.I dont think there was anything malicious or necessarily wrong with what occurred.But I just dont think we want it to become common that players and fans are touching each other.Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall agreed..ddddddddddddIt wasnt malicious but the problem is if we start allowing fans to touch players, we set a very dangerous precedent, Dunstall said during Fox Footys coverage of the match.And we know where that will probably end up, so we just cant have it.AFL icon Leigh Matthews suggested the league should remind fans to keep their hands off.Its not a hanging offence. Theres no need to suspend the guy from going to the footy, Matthews said on Seven.But I think a caution from head office - fans, dont touch players if they come near the fence. ' ' '