Abu Dhabi (AFP)

The Atlanta Hawks earned their 118-109 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Etihad Arena in the two teams’ second preseason game in Abu Dhabi as part of the new NBA season.
The Hawks, who won their only NBA title in 1958, beat the 2021 champion Bucks 123-113 on Thursday.
Both games were held in Abu Dhabi as part of a multi-year partnership between the NBA and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism.
Two countries have been identified for pre-season matches, namely the United Arab Emirates and Japan, while Paris and Mexico City will host regular season matches.
NBA teams since 1978 have played more than 200 games in more than 20 countries outside of cities in the United States and Canada.
Contrary to the equality that existed for most of the first leg, the situation was different in the second after the Milwaukee coach had bet on the rest of most of his stars in the first half, led by Greek Yannis Antetokounmpo, who participated in the match. The second half lasted 10 minutes and he scored 4 points.
Trae Young made the most of the absence, leading his team to a 63-55 half-time lead after scoring 31 points in 20 minutes before being sacked in the second half.
With the exception of the first quarter, which ended 25-24 in favor of Milwaukee, Atlanta dominated the rest of the quarters and the difference reached 21 points in the third game (96-75).
DeAndre Hunter scored 21 points for Atlanta, IJ Griffin (13).
Milwaukee’s top scorers were Lindell Wigginton (16 points) and Bobby Portis (15).
After the match, Griffin said: “It was a great experience, everything in Abu Dhabi was great.”
“Our performance against Milwaukee in two games was the culmination of our good preparation to start the season.”