ATLANTA -- Jeff Teague's Atlanta teammates raved about his pivotal scoring in the final quarter.
Teague said he was just trying to make up for his poor results the rest of the game.
Teague scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Hawks overcame poor 3-point shooting to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 101-90 on Friday night.
Teague missed each of his five 3-point shots and had a game-high six turnovers. But with the Hawks leading only 82-79 in the final period, the point guard delivered a decisive scoring spree.
Teague had three straight baskets, including two three-point plays. The second basket and free throw pushed the lead to 90-81.
"I tried to do something to help the team while I was out there on the floor," Teague said. "It was just me attacking."
The run came with Atlanta's backup point guard, Dennis Schroder, on the bench with five fouls.
John Henson answered Teague's run with a three-point play before Thabo Sefolosha countered with Atlanta's only 3-pointer of the second half.
Paul Millsap had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Al Horford also had 14 points to keep the Hawks' late-season surge going. They have won seven of eight and 10 of 12 to move to third place in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks (43-30) are a season-high 13 games over .500 and got there despite making only 5 of 32 3-pointers.
Jabari Parker led Milwaukee with 19 points. Henson had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bucks had only 16 assists with 15 turnovers.
"Guys are trying to do it themselves and sometimes that happens," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Moving the ball, trusting one another. Tonight we just didn't trust one another."
Atlanta dodged Milwaukee's attempt for a sweep of the season series. The Bucks won the first two games against the Hawks in overtime, including a double-overtime win in Atlanta on Feb. 20.
Atlanta led 51-46 at halftime. The Bucks cut the Hawks' lead to one point before Atlanta used a 10-2 run for a 75-66 lead.
Atlanta's defense made up for the poor outside shooting. Milwaukee leads the NBA in points in the paint but was outscored 58-42 around the basket by the Hawks.
"We made a concerted effort to protect the paint," Teague said. "We said we were going to live with them making outside shots."
Coach Jason Kidd said before the game the Bucks must avoid the temptation "to look at the finish line and prepare for the summer and next season."
Kidd said the Bucks, 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, need to take advantage of their last 10 games because "we still have a lot to learn."
Kidd said the Bucks can't relax, especially against teams battling for playoff positions.
"You know, they're all bunched up," Kidd said of the Eastern Conference playoff standings. "So we have to expect that they're going to give us their best and we want to do that in return."
Bucks: Parker scored eight of Milwaukee's first 10 points and had 10 points in the first quarter. . . . The Bucks were denied their second season sweep of the Hawks in franchise history. They were 4-0 against Atlanta in 1999-2000. . . . The Bucks play their next five games at home, where they are 21-14. . . . After shooting over 50 percent from the field in three straight games, Milwaukee shot only 41.7 percent.
Hawks: Millsap has four double-doubles in his last six games. . . . The Hawks close with five of their final nine regular-season games on the road, including their next three against Detroit, Chicago and Toronto. . . . Kris Humphries had 11 points. Sefolosha had 10.
Bucks: Host Charlotte on Saturday night.
Hawks: At Detroit on Saturday night.
