East Notes: Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bulls, Heat

Bucks

The Bucks needed to lose some time, and this year, the first one came to the Hawks on Monday night. That followed Milwaukee’s impressive 9-0 start to the season.

“They played with a lot of energy, especially in the second half,” forward Giannis Antetokounmpo said, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Third quarter they set the tone. They came out aggressive, they were knocking down shots, rebounding the ball, running, getting easy ones, getting open looks, defending. They just played with a lot of energy. I don’t think we was able to match that energy. That’s why they were able to get a lead and keep that lead and win the game.”

• Antetokounmpo is third in the NBA in scoring average at 31.8 points, and third in rebounding at 12.2. He is tied for 17th in blocks (1.4 bpg).
• Point guard Jrue Holiday turned his ankle, briefly exiting vs. the Hawks before returning. “I’m alright — twisted ankle,” Holiday said, via Owczarski. “We’ll see how it is (Tuesday). You always gotta see overnight what happens. So, we’ll see.”

Bulls

Guard Zach LaVine scored his first 30-point game of the year in Monday’s win over the Raptors, indicating his troubled knee is making progress.

“They want me to catch-and-shoot everything right now. I still gotta be me. I’m still catching my rhythm. But I’m starting to feel good,” LaVine said, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I’m trying to find more catch-and-shoots. There were a couple I pump faked and tried to drive. I gotta shoot more, get up more 3s. Someone telling me to shoot more? It sounds good.”

LaVine thinks better days await the Bulls, who remain without injured point guard Lonzo Ball.

“We’ve had a tough schedule to start off,” LaVine said. “Now we have a a day or two off between every game. I’m happy with that because you’ll see me in the lineup.”

• Second-year guard Ayo Dosunmu is making great strides as a slasher this season, wrote Stephen Beslic of SI Fan Nation.

Heat

After finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference season, the Heat have struggled mightily at the start. At least, they have for them.

But there is a lot of basketball to be played, veteran guard Kyle Lowry said, via Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.

“We’re 11 games into an 82-game season,” Lowry said. “So we just got to kind of chip away at it and take it game by game, one by one, and get to .500 first. And then you just kind of build from there.

“But we can’t even think about .500. We just got to think about getting the next game.”