NBA Playoffs : Bucks Defeat Hawks, Take On Pistons Next

Maybe it was because the prize was to face the powerful Detroit Pistons, but neither team played well in the playoff finale Sunday at Atlanta.

The Milwaukee Bucks, who fought their way to a 96-92 victory over the Hawks, had the better excuse. They were missing their leading scorer and rebounder, Terry Cummings, who sprained an ankle in Game 4 and was on crutches.

But the Bucks were steadier down the stretch against a team not noted for stellar playoff performances. While Dominique Wilkins all but disappeared in the last nine minutes, the Bucks got some surprising help off the bench.

Fred Roberts was a decent replacement for Cummings, but the shocker was Paul Mokeski, the 7-foot backup center. In 25 minutes Mokeski had 11 points and six rebounds. He turned the game around when he sank a three-point shot to give Milwaukee a 73-70 lead at the end of three quarters. He also made two big baskets in the closing minutes, including a layup with 2:51 left to put the Bucks in the lead to stay, 87-86.

Reserves Ricky Pierce and Jay Humphries also made major contributions.

After Roberts, who had 18 points and six rebounds in 46 minutes, made two free throws to make it 89-86, Pierce and Humphries made the lead stand up.

Hawk Coach Mike Fratello appeared to have made all the right moves when he gave good rests to his key players, Wilkins and Moses Malone, in the last quarter.

But Wilkins did not score a point after his jumper tied the score, 74-74. Malone had a big game, 25 points and 16 rebounds. But he missed three of four free throws in the stretch. Malone did get a three-point basket with 44 seconds left to cut the lead to three. However, Wilkins, in one of his few shots in the last quarter, missed a hurried three-pointer 30 seconds later that would have tied it.

“This will be hard for us to get over,” Wilkins said after the Hawks, who beat the Bucks six times in the regular season, were wiped out again in the first round.