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Malika AndrewsESPN
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks ticked off one more regular-season accomplishment on Sunday night in Fiserv Forum: Beating the Atlanta Hawks 115-107 and securing their 60th win of the season. As the clock wound down and the Bucks’ dribbled out the clock, Bucks fans chanted “60” at the top of their lungs.
With just one or two games remaining on most schedules, no other team will be able to reach the 60-win mark this season. Still, there were no champagne showers or cake-cutting ceremonies to commemorate the moment after the game, despite the club reaching the mark for the first time since 1981.
“We have bigger goals ahead of us,” said coach Mike Budenholzer. “But it’s important for the group to enjoy it and celebrate it. Not a lot of people get to participate on a team that can win 60 in a season. It’s down our list of priorities, but it’s certainly something to be enjoyed.”
Enjoying the 60-win mark is something new for Budenholzer, who said he took very little time to celebrate after leading the Hawks to the mark in 2014-15. Budenholzer now joins Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, K.C. Jones, Mike D’Antoni, Don Nelson and Rick Adelman to win 60 games with multiple franchises.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 30 points and 9 rebounds, said that he won’t be doing anything to mark the occasion. Ultimately, he hopes to accomplish more, but he did take a minute during his postgame comments to reflect on how far the team has come since his rookie season when the Bucks won only 15 games.
“Now, we have four times that amount,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s big. Our goal coming into the season was to get 60 wins.”
He continued: “I think you enjoy it in the summer, when you look back. You enjoy it a little bit right now, but if you enjoy a moment for too long, I think you lose track of what is important.”
The Bucks continued body maintenance in the game against Atlanta in preparation for the playoffs. Budenholzer played Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton only 25 minutes each. No player played more than Sterling Brown, who was on the court for 28 minutes.
While both Antetokounmpo and Middleton said the Bucks have one eye on the playoffs, they both said they have not paid close attention to the shuffling going on at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
“It’s a special season,” Middleton said. “From the beginning of training camp until now, our guys stayed with it. It’s definitely a special moment for the team, but we want to do more.”