Atlanta Hawks at Bucks: Game thread

Milwaukee–Zaza Pachulia is the starter at center. “He’s been playing well lately,” Larry Drew said. “He has played well against the Bucks. So we elected to go with him.”

• Zaza has been as productive and efficient as usual but his minutes have fluctuated. “It’s hard, but you have to be a pro,” he said. “I’ve been in a situation where I was getting mad previous years. But you learn one thing, you can’t control it or make it better. All you can do is be professional. I am not worried about that. I’ve been in the league long enough to realize my role and what I can do, where my strength is, what I can do for a team.”
• Included among the keys on Milwaukee’s pregame board: “Match Pachulia’s energy.”
• Jeff Teague on Drew keeping him as the starter when Hinrich returns: “That feels real good to hear. But I really can’t control it too much. I’ve just got to go out there and play hard and keep playing my game.”
• Scott Skiles on how the schedule has affected the Bucks: “We’re trying to be smart and and build in rest and have the most energy we can for the game and at the same time prepare properly. It’s very difficult to do. It’s one of the reasons we feel like our defense hasn’t been what it normally would be. Hopefully we’ve gotten far enough into the season so it’s something we can be more consistent with.”
• The Bucks ground down the Heat to win a low-possession game last night in Miami after doing the same to the Knicks Friday in a high-possession game in New York.
• Skiles though the offensive execution was good at Miami: “We just didn’t make shots. I think we are moving in the right direction but that doesn’t necessarily show up when you shoot 35 percent.”
• Like always, shot selection will be key for the Hawks. “When we e talk about playing on the road, we talk about playing with a smartness,” Drew said. “We can’t get seduced into taking a bunch of jump shots. We have to move the ball from one side of the floor to the other and attack the basket. Where we’ve gotten in trouble, particularly on the road, is settling for too many jump shots.”

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat