CHICAGO (AP) — The Greek Freak was back in action — and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks eventually got rolling to pull out a win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and had 17 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe added 19 points and Milwaukee came on late to outlast the pesky Chicago Bulls 112-99 on ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — With Giannis Antetokounmpo on the bench in street clothes, the Milwaukee Bucks had their lowest scoring output of the season and fell flat.

“We’ll probably throw this one in the trash can and move on,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We just didn’t have it ...

Milwaukee didn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs last year. Denver didn’t even get into the first round of the playoffs, its postseason hopes thwarted by a loss in the last game of the regular season.

As such, few may have seen this coming.

The perk of getting to coach the ...

TORONTO (AP) — Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer and his staff are heading to the All-Star Game.

The Bucks’ 105-92 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night clinched the spot for Budenholzer, who will coach in the All-Star Game for the second time in five years. He also coached in ...

DETROIT (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks have been unbeatable after a loss.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds to help the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 115-105 on Tuesday night, keeping ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks’ offense as usual Monday, with a little help from Brook Lopez’s blossoming long-range shooting.

On the other end of the floor, Lopez helped Milwaukee clamp down in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee.

Antetokounmpo had 31 points ...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Eric Bledsoe made it easy for the Milwaukee Bucks and superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Bledsoe scored 30 points, Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 13 rebounds and the Bucks won their fourth straight game, beating the Orlando Magic 118-108 on Saturday night.

“It’s ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Held well below his season scoring average, Giannis Antetokounmpo found other ways to help the Milwaukee Bucks win.

Antetokounmpo had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, and the Bucks cruised past the Miami Heat 124-86 on ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had just one rebound in the first half as the Bucks lost the battle of the boards by 16.

Milwaukee took charge of the game in the second half with Khris Middleton and Antetokounmpo exerting their will in the paint.

“We played a little bit harder, ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The last thing the Milwaukee Bucks wanted on Friday was a grind-it-out game, with Eastern Conference rival Toronto coming to town the next night to complete a back-to-back set.

No need to worry in Mike Budenholzer’s first game against his former team.

Giannis ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Dynamic offense jump-started the Milwaukee Bucks’ season. Tighter defense has propelled them to the best record in the NBA.

The Bucks are 15 games over .500, an impressive beginning for Mike Budenholzer’s tenure as Milwaukee’s head coach.

Now comes the tough part: ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo held down his usual spot atop the stat sheet, though his most important contribution was keeping his cool.

Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Khris Middleton added 25 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 112-96 on Thursday ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — As usual, Giannis Antetokounmpo put up the big numbers. But it was D.J. Wilson and his fellow reserves who caught the eye of first-year Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.

Antetokounmpo had 25 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and the Bucks got a big effort ...

CLEVELAND (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo played as if he had a point to prove.

The Milwaukee star rebounded from his worst game of the season to match his career high with 44 points and the Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-102 on Friday night despite missing two starters.

Two ...

CLEVELAND (AP) — Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon, the second and fourth leading scorers for the Milwaukee Bucks, are out against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Middleton has a sprained right finger and Brogdon a sore left hamstring. Neither will play Friday night in the second matchup ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The formula for success in Milwaukee doesn’t always have to revolve around the high-scoring duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.

Eric Bledsoe matched his season high with 27 points and Antetokounmpo added 15 as the Bucks rolled to a 115-92 victory over the ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was seething over what he perceived as a lackadaisical effort in the first half Friday night and unloaded on his team at halftime.

Message delivered.

Eric Bledsoe scored 25 points, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo each ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — In search of his jump shot, CJ McCollum watched every single 3-pointer he took last season looking for what he lost.

Fortunately for the Portland Trail Blazers, he found it.

McCollum scored 40 points and Portland beat Milwaukee 118-103 on Tuesday night to hand ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo is taking his game to another level.

He had his second triple-double this season with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Milwaukee Bucks rout the Sacramento Kings 144-109 on Sunday.

“A great win for the team,” Antetokounmpo said, ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — On the first day of preseason camp, the Milwaukee Bucks’ practice court featured squares on the floor made of blue tape at five roughly equidistant points just behind the 3-point arc. They marked proper spacing in first-year coach Mike Budenholzer’s offensive system.

The ...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — First-year coach Mike Budenholzer brought his heavy reliance on 3-pointers to the Milwaukee Bucks this season, transforming a team not known for its prowess from beyond the arc.

The approach has taken hold and Milwaukee has tied the best start in franchise ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — After a cold start, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks offense again roared to life, including a near-record output in the second quarter.

Before celebrating the scoring outburst, coach Mike Budenholzer wanted to talk about his team’s second-half defense after a ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo’s inside game is setting up the Bucks’ new-look, long-range attack.

Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 15 rebounds and Khris Middleton added 25 points to help Milwaukee beat the Indiana Pacers 118-101 on Friday night in the regular-season opener in the ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Lloyd Pierce is hardly expecting a smooth ride in his first season as a head coach.

His Atlanta Hawks have begun a major rebuilding job. They have no star player, their point guard is a 20-year-old rookie, and their roster depth is suspect.

“Our margin of error to ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — In his never-ending quest to improve, Giannis Antetokounmpo connected in the offseason with one of the NBA’s retired greats.

No way was the Milwaukee Bucks star going to be late for a summer workout with Kobe Bryant.

But showing up three hours early? That sends a ...

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks put on a smashing opening-night performance at their new arena.

Antetokounmpo had 19 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and the Bucks routed the Chicago Bulls 116-82 on Wednesday night in the first game at the Fiserv Forum.

The Bucks ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Preparing for Giannis Antetokounmpo kept Mike Budenholzer up at night.

Now, one of the NBA’s budding superstars will be on Budenholzer’s side after the former Atlanta Hawks coach was formally introduced on Monday as the new leader of the Milwaukee Bucks.

“It was ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks have officially announced the hiring of Mike Budenholzer as their new coach.

A person familiar with the search had told The Associated ...

A person familiar with the search tells The Associated Press that the Milwaukee Bucks have reached an agreement with Mike Budenholzer to become the team’s next coach.

The 2015 NBA Coach of the Year will replace Joe Prunty, the former assistant who went 21-16 in the regular season after ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk on Thursday described coach Mike Budenholzer’s exit as “harmonious” and “as mutual as parting can be.”

Schlenk also said the decision, finalized

ATLANTA (AP) — Mike Budenholzer wanted to coach elsewhere. The Atlanta Hawks finally agreed it’s a good idea.

The Hawks and Budenholzer mutually agreed to part ways Wednesday in a move announced by the team in a three-sentence statement.

The decision was not totally unexpected as ...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dennis Schroder was unstoppable on the offensive end but felt like he could do more.

He asked Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer for a defensive switch so he could guard Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell down the stretch.

“I want to prove myself on the defensive end ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Dwight Howard insists he holds no grudges against the Atlanta Hawks and coach Mike Budenholzer.

They traded him to Charlotte after one forgettable season, but Howard, in his 14th season and with his third team in three years, believes it made him a better player.

“It ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Dennis Schroder scored every which way Saturday night.

The point guard equaled his career high with 33 points, including 27 in the second half, to help the Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-107 in a matchup of last-place teams.

After missing Friday night’s ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer keeps encouraging Taurean Prince to shoot more often.

The NBA’s worst team needs as much offense as it can get.

“We’re wanting him to shoot a lot — catch and shoot, shoot whenever he’s got daylight, driving and finishing,” Budenholzer said. ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Ersan Ilyasova was flawless almost from start to finish Saturday night, and Kent Bazemore was perfect in the final minute for the Atlanta Hawks. They needed it to overcome Nikola Vucevic’s first career triple-double.

Pretty as it was to watch Ilyasova score 26 points while ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer has been waiting for his young team to notch a signature home victory against a quality opponent.

Now Budenholzer has a teaching point to use for the rest of a long season ahead.

“Of course we’d like to start better than giving up 39 in the ...

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson are keeping the short-handed San Antonio Spurs going.

Aldridge had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Anderson had another solid game in place of Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs held off the Atlanta Hawks 96-85 on Monday night.

“LaMarcus ...

The Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks will face each other in both teams’ regular-season opener next week. But Thursday’s night’s preseason matchup wasn’t true a preview of that game.

Gian Clavell had 19 points, including five 3-pointers, and the visiting Mavericks beat the Hawks 108-94. ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Let the rebuilding begin for the Atlanta Hawks.

After an all-too-brief run among the NBA’s elite, the Hawks are starting over with a largely anonymous squad and no hope of challenging the top teams. Four-time All-Star Paul Millsap was allowed to walk. Dwight Howard was ...

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks’ next general manager will have total authority of personnel decisions following moves on Friday which dismantled the two-tier management team of Mike Budenholzer and Wes Wilcox.

Budenholzer resigned as the Hawks’ president of basketball operations and will ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Wall figured the credit went to the down-the-stretch defense displayed by his Washington Wizards.

Neither Dennis Schroder nor coach Mike Budenholzer found any flaws with the way their Atlanta Hawks handled things late.

Either way, the odd manner in which ...