ATLANTA -- If there was ever a time to do it, Monday's matchup against the Golden State Warriors presented the Atlanta Hawks an excellent chance to snap a double-digit losing streak -- and they didn't miss their chance.

"It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it," coach Lloyd Pierce said. "It feels a lot better coming in here than the last 10 games."

Behind 24 points and 7 assists from Trae Young, the Hawks dominated the skeleton Warriors 104-79, picking up their first win since Nov. 12.

"It feels good, obviously, winning," Young said. "I haven't won in a long time, which is not a good feeling. So any time you get a win it feels good, so we're all happy but obviously we've got a long way to go."

The Warriors, on the other hand, now sit alone with the worst record in the league at 4-18, having lost six of their last seven.

"I thought we were playing for ourselves out there, instead of playing for each other," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We were trying to dribble though traffic instead of moving the ball. Everybody was trying to make a play, instead of letting the next guy make the play, and we just got frustrated. We didn't have any kind of rhythm or flow to the game."

Against the second-worst defense in the NBA, the Warriors scored just 79 points (tied for second fewest under Kerr), turned it over 25 times and shot 3-of-17 from 3, tied for the fewest made 3s under Kerr.

"It's not easy for anybody to lose, especially given that our team has fought really hard through the first quarter of the season and had some really difficult, close losses," Kerr said. "It wears on you, and you want those efforts to be rewarded. You have to keep the faith, and you just have to keep fighting, and that's my job to keep their spirits up and turn it around."

It's somewhat of two differing mindsets, though, with the Hawks trying to grow a young group into a playoff-caliber team, while the Warriors have endured an almost comical string of injuries. The Hawks aren't interested in losing, while the Warriors can take advantage of an injury-plagued year with the upside of a high draft pick.

Despite an obvious opportunity to win over the battered Warriors, Pierce said the Hawks didn't prioritize Monday's game. And he's also trying to make sure the outcome is kept in context as well, noting often who the Warriors didn't have playing.

"I don't know if it's a momentum builder," he said, "but it's just good to get off the other side of the momentum."

Coming off a deflating road trip that featured two close losses to top level Eastern Conference teams and then a 47-point thrashing by the Houston Rockets, the Hawks kept preaching positive energy and investment. At Monday morning's shootaround, the spirit was evident, with the team gathering around midcourt as the rookies sang happy birthday to De'Andre Hunter.

After the win over the Warriors, the locker room was full of fun, with jokes about Cam Reddish's missed dunk, Hunter being in pain because of a (apparently non-serious) finger injury and DeAndre' Bembry grabbing two rebounds late in the game from Damian Jones, which prevented a double-double against his former team.

"When you're on a 10-game losing streak, it's hard to communicate," Pierce said. "You don't want to offend anyone, everyone's pissed off. So to just be able to make fun of each other is a big part of it."

The Hawks started the season 2-0, showing early signs of growth from last season's strong finish. They were 3-3 on Nov. 5 when forward John Collins, their second-leading scorer, was suspended by the league 25 games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. Since then, with other injuries on top of it (Kevin Huerter, Allen Crabbe), they are 3-13.

"We just passed the quarter mark of the season, so the thing about me is I understand it's a long season," Young said. "You can have a bad start and finish off strong, and the same vice versa. It's a long season, and you've got to continue to get better and hopefully we can flip it around."

MILWAUKEE -- After a 29-point, 15-rebound performance in 22 minutes, Giannis Antetokounmpo stretched out in front of his locker using leg recovery technology while recapping highlights from the Milwaukee Bucks' latest 132-88 win against the New York Knicks on his phone.

By halftime, the game was well out of reach as the Knicks faced its largest deficit of the season after trailing by 27 points, but a first-half dunk by teammate Khris Middleton brought a smile to his and teammate George Hill's faces when they rewatched the reaction from the bench.

Milwaukee would continue to pound the Knicks en route to grabbing hold of the league's best record (18-3), in addition to handing New York its largest loss.

"We've got to do our job. It starts with the coaching staff, it starts with the leader. We're not coming here and thinking about the 12 games we won," Antetokounmpo said. "We're thinking about, 'how can I do my job? how can I win tonight?' And that's the most important thing. We've got Detroit next, how can we win in Detroit? How can we go in there and play good basketball and win.

"What we did it for 12 games, I know we're playing great basketball, everybody's having fun but that's in the past. We've got to keep getting better, keep improving our game, keep improving as a team, because at the end of the day we try to translate everything we do right now at the end of the year. We've got to keep taking steps forward."

Last season, the Bucks were 15-6 through 21 games but the 18-3 matches the franchise's best ever start through 21 games with the 1970-71 and 1971-72 teams. That 1971 team also won the title led by Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

"I'm really happy to see the Milwaukee franchise doing well and contending," Abdul-Jabbar told ESPN. "It's a whole lot of fans here that have really been starving for a dominant team and it seems like they've got one now and I hope they put all the pieces together this year and do a little bit better."

On the other hand, even diehard Knicks fans have lost hope in the squad. New York has now dropped seven consecutive games -- which is their worst streak of this season. The Knicks were held to 30.8 percent shooting on the night.

"Early prediction, Greek Freak goes crazy," rapper Fat Joe told ESPN ahead of the tip-off, with a laugh.

"They ain't turning nothing around this year," he added of the Knicks.

Meanwhile, the Bucks have won 12 straight games for the first time since Jan-Feb, 1982. The 44-point win also marked the fifth time in league history that a team has won consecutive games by 40 or more, after beating the Hornets by 41 in their last game.

Middleton re-entered the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the last three to end with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Antetokounmpo also dished out three assists on 10-for-14 shooting with three treys. He posted 16 points with 10 rebounds in the first two quarters, which was the first time this season he's had a double-double at halftime.

D.J. Wilson also contributed a career-best 19 points with five rebounds. Julius Randle led the Knicks with 19 points.

But deeper than statistics or streaks, the red-hot Bucks say they are locked in on maintaining good habits.

"Just at halftime, (coach Mike Budenholzer) comes in and keeps reminding us to play the right way," Middleton said of maintaining an edge. "Don't let our guards down like we have in the past. Just keep playing defense, keep playing the right way, keep running the offense and build great habits."

Joe Root, England's captain, has backed Jofra Archer to learn his lessons quickly after a chastening first taste of overseas Test cricket, and believes that England will travel to South Africa for next month's four-Test series all the better prepared for the challenge after two hard-fought Tests in New Zealand.

Archer endured a frustrating series, in what was his first experience of first-class cricket outside of England, let alone at the highest level. With his speeds noticeably down as he struggled to get to grips with the Kookaburra ball, he picked up two wickets across 82 overs in the two matches. His fortunes were epitomised on the final day in Hamilton, where Joe Denly dropped a sitter at midwicket to deny him the prize scalp of New Zealand's captain, Kane Williamson.

Off the field he was distracted too, following an incident of racial abuse at Mount Maunganui that has led NZC to lodge an official complaint with the police. But speaking at the end of the series, Root reiterated that Archer, 24, is still very new to international cricket, and will continue to be an incredible asset to England if he carries on developing as he has done so far this year.

"I think he's found that Test cricket is hard, and you've got to keep backing up those performances over and over again," Root told Sky Sports. "You can sometimes bowl extremely well and get no reward.

"And he's young," Root added. "He's right at the start of his career, and as I said at the start of the trip, there are big expectations on him. He's still got a lot of learning to do, but one thing I know for sure is that he's a fantastic talent and there's no doubt he's going to contribute massively for England in Test cricket.

"But he has to keep wanting to learn, and to stay nice and resilient mentally and physically as well, because these conditions can wear you down. I expect him to bounce back quite strongly from something like this, because he's a fast learner. He's proven that when he's played domestic cricket around the world, in all these big franchise tournaments. Hopefully we'll see see him back at his best soon."

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England's selectors will name their squad for the South Africa tour over the weekend, and Root said that in spite of the series scoreline in New Zealand, they could take heart from the manner in which the side bounced back from their innings defeat in the first Test, and from the lessons they took from New Zealand's star peformers - not least the Man of the Series, Neil Wagner, who claimed back-to-back five-fors on the unresponsive decks.

"I think we learned a lot about the group," said Root. "Obviously the ideal scenario is perform extremely well, and come away with a 2-0 series win, so it's not worked out how we would have liked, but [for South Africa] we've now seen what it can be like if the surfaces do get like this with the Kookaburra ball. And like we did at Mount Maunganui, we have to learn very quickly and take that forward into those four games.

"You've got to learn from the opposition as well," he added. "You look at someone like Neil Wagner - he's got a big heart, a big engine, and keeps running. And that's what you want, you want guys who, time and time again, want to be putting themselves in that position, to keep wanting to create chances and keep trying to change the game."

Wholesale changes for the tour of South Africa are unlikely, although James Anderson will doubtless return to the fray if he can prove his fitness after missing the bulk of the Ashes with a long-term calf injury. He is currently on a training camp in Potchefstroom with other potential selections, including Mark Wood and Jonny Bairstow, whose omission from the New Zealand tour left Ollie Pope with the wicketkeeping duties at Hamilton after Jos Buttler suffered a back strain on the eve of the match.

Pope performed creditably in difficult circumstances, making a career-best 75 in England's only innings, although he did drop a straightforward chance off Williamson on the final morning of the Test.

"Look, we didn't expect Jos to go down as late as he did, but it does happen," said Root. "And we knew that that could happen when we picked the squad. And, bar one mistake today, Ollie made a very good account of himself. He showed great maturity with the way he batted throughout his innings and proved why he got given that opportunity."

"Jonny is out in South Africa practising," Root added. "He's obviously not played red-ball cricket or been given an opportunity to prove himself, in terms of match time, so he's doing some work with a couple of coaches and face those [bowlers], and make sure he's match-hardened if he's to be selected."

One key decision will be the availability of Moeen Ali, who requested time away from red-ball cricket after a tough home summer, and who hinted to ESPNcricinfo last week that he is not yet sure he's ready for a return to the Test arena. But, with England opting for an all-seam attack in Hamilton amid doubts about Jack Leach's penetration with the ball, his prowess as a spin-bowling allrounder is still highly valued by his captain.

"I need to sit down and speak to Ed [Smith, selector], and to Moeen, and find out exactly what the situation is with Mo," said Root. "One thing is for sure, we know how talented he is. We know what he has produced in Test cricket over his career. It's very easy to look at small sample sizes that have happened more recently, but he's a he's a fine, fine player and I'm sure at some point, he'll be back in and raring to go. But once those conversations have happened, I'll give you a little bit more."

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels declined to offer a 2020 contract to catcher Kevan Smith on Monday, making him a free agent.

The 31-year-old Smith played in just 67 games last season with the Angels after they claimed him off waivers from the White Sox. He batted .251 with five homers and 12 RBI while missing time with injuries including a lower back strain and a concussion.

The Angels tendered a contract to catcher Max Stassi, but his recovery from right hip surgery could keep him sidelined past opening day. Anthony Bemboom is the only other catcher on the Angels' 40-man roster.

The Angels also tendered contracts to their other seven arbitration-eligible players, infielder Tommy La Stella, outfielder Brian Goodwin and left-hander Andrew Heaney.

Non-tender night has become an increasingly interesting spot on the baseball calendar as teams increasingly decline to offer contracts to viable and sometimes quite productive major league players -- but not so productive that their current team is willing to pay them what they might earn via the arbitration process.

The Baltimore Orioles put second baseman Jonathan Villar on waivers last week, even though he was coming off a season in which he hit .274/.339/.453 with 40 stolen bases. The Orioles finally found a trade partner Monday night, as the Miami Marlins sent them a minor league pitcher, but mostly the Marlins will absorb Villar's projected $9.75 million salary. The Marlins also acquired first baseman Jesus Aguilar from the Tampa Bay Rays, who was available for the same salary-driven reasons. The Marlins ranked 25th in wOBA at first base in 2019 and dead last at second base, so they just became a better team simply by existing, adding a 4.0 WAR second baseman and a 2018 All-Star first baseman.

In fact, maybe they should scroll through the list of Monday's non-tenders to build an entire new lineup. Thanks to revenue sharing and TV money, the Marlins can actually afford these guys and roll the dice. Heck, being terrible enough to snap up some intriguing talent is perhaps a good way of exploiting the sabermetric mindset of the "smart" teams.

Addison Russell was the biggest name cut loose, with the Chicago Cubs issuing a statement that Russell's projected role for 2020 was "inconsistent with how he would have been treated in the salary arbitration process." With Javier Baez entrenched at shortstop, David Bote a capable reserve in the infield and prospect Nico Hoerner impressing in September, the Cubs didn't need Russell and will save an estimated $4.5 million in salary.

Russell is now a free agent. He is actually more attractive than some non-tenders, since he actually has two years of team control remaining, and since Marlins non-tendered shortstop JT Riddle, that makes Miami a possible landing spot for Russell. Of course, Russell comes with baggage that some teams will wish to avoid after drawing a suspension in 2018 for violating the league's domestic abuse policy. His bat also has regressed after a promising 2016 season when he hit 21 home runs and knocked in 95 runs as the shortstop for the World Series champion Cubs. His defensive metrics, however, remain above average.

Besides the Marlins, the Orioles are a possibility. Or maybe the Cincinnati Reds, who have Freddy Galvis hanging around, but could use an elite shortstop sandwiched between Eugenio Suarez and Mike Moustakas in their infield -- and Russell's warning-track power could work well in the Great American Ball Park.

Here are some of the other interesting non-tenders with projected salaries via Cot's Baseball Contracts:

RHP Blake Treinen (Oakland Athletics)
Projected salary: $8 million

Why he was non-tendered: After posting a 0.78 ERA and 38 saves in 2018, Treinen couldn't find the same consistency with that darting power sinker and posted a 4.91 ERA with 5.7 walks per nine.

Possible landing spot: Treinen was drafted by the A's, traded to the Nationals and then traded back to the A's. How about a return to Washington, where he can get the chance to be Sean Doolittle's set-up guy?

1B C.J. Cron (Minnesota Twins)
Projected salary: $6.9 million

Why he was non-tendered: Cron has mashed 55 home runs the past two seasons, was waived by the Rays last offseason and now has been non-tendered. He has power, but doesn't walk and is a mediocre defender, making him a below-average regular at first base.

Possible landing spot: The Rangers were 29th in wOBA at first base as rookie Ronald Guzman was overmatched. The White Sox could use a DH. The Royals are in a rebuilding mode, but had the worst first base numbers in the majors.

CF Kevin Pillar (San Francisco Giants)
Projected salary: $9.25 million

Why he was non-tendered: Funny, Pillar actually received one 10th-place in the MVP voting, the same as Max Scherzer. I guess the Giants don't feel he was actually as valuable as Max Scherzer. He hit 21 home runs, but somehow walked just 18 times in 162 games, giving him a .293 OBP.

Possible landing spot: Pillar's defensive metrics have slipped from their 2015-2017 peak in Toronto, but he's at least average in center field and he's not a complete zero at the plate. The Rockies, last in the majors in DRS in center field, could use Pillar's glove, as could the Mets. The A's could play Pillar in center and shift rifle-armed Ramon Laureano to right field.

RHP Kevin Gausman (Cincinnati Reds)
Projected salary: $11 million

Why he was non-tendered: That's big change to pay a pitcher who put up a 5.72 ERA in 2019. The Reds like their rotation with Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Trevor Bauer, Anthony DeSclafini and Tyler Mahle.

Possible landing spot: Gausman averaged 3.1 WAR from 2016-18, so he might be able to find a two-year contract if his medicals check out. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was very good in 2019, so he isn't completely broken. This has Angels written all over it. Or Rangers. Or maybe the Twins, who have to replace Kyle Gibson and Michael Pineda in the rotation.

Infielders Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco (Philadelphia Phillies)
Projected salaries: $10.5 million and $5.75 million

Why they were non-tendered: The anticipation that there are better options out there in free agency, most likely -- such as Josh Donaldson or Anthony Rendon to play third base and Didi Gregorius to play shortstop (with Jean Segura sliding over to second base).

Possible landing spots: Hernandez, originally signed by the Phillies way back in 2006, is a solid player who has averaged 2.5 WAR the past four seasons and at the right price could land on a contender -- like the Indians, Red Sox or A's (who just traded Jurickson Profar to San Diego). Franco? Meh. How about a spring training invite to the Tigers?

OF Domingo Santana (Seattle Mariners)
Projected salary: $3.75 million

Why he was non-tendered: Have you watched him play the outfield?

Possible landing spot: Santana hit 30 home runs for the Brewers in 2017 and hit well for a few months last season before slumping in the second half. The worst-hitting outfield belonged to ... the Marlins!

3B Travis Shaw and RHP Jimmy Nelson (Milwaukee Brewers)
Projected salaries: $4.75 million and $3.7 million

Why they were non-tendered: Shaw hit .157 after back-to-back 30-homer seasons. Nelson hasn't been able to work his way back to form after that 2017 shoulder injury.

Possible landing spots: I could see the Brewers bringing Nelson back, maybe with a lower 2020 salary and second-year option based on his health in 2020. Shaw averaged 4.0 WAR in 2017-18 and could get an opportunity with a team like the Angels or Rangers who need a third baseman (depending on how the winter plays out).

RHP Taijuan Walker and OF Steven Souza Jr. (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Projected salaries: $5.025 million and $4.2 million

Why they were non-tendered: Walker has pitched 14 innings the past two seasons after Tommy John surgery and Souza missed all of 2019 after knee surgery.

Possible landing spots: Anywhere. Walker could be a good buy-low candidate for a team just looking to fill its rotation like the Mariners, Orioles or Rockies. (I would advise somebody trying to rebuild their career to choose sea level.)

Facing criticism over his recent commitment to the European Tour's upcoming event in Saudi Arabia, Phil Mickelson took to Twitter Monday night to defend his decision.

Mickelson is the latest star to add his name to the field for the second-year Saudi International, a list that includes defending champ Dustin Johnson, world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Shane Lowry, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia. While the event's existence has received scrutiny over the country's questionable human rights record and the government's alleged involvement in the 2018 murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Mickelson said in a statement that he viewed his participation as "doing my bit to grow the game in the kingdom."

Hours later, Mickelson shared on social media that while he "understand(s) those who are upset or disappointed," he remains "excited to experience this for the first time."

The Jan. 30-Feb. 2 tournament dates coincide with those of the PGA Tour's Waste Management Phoenix Open, which has been a staple of Mickelson's schedule since turning pro. The former Arizona State product has won the event three times and hasn't missed it since 1990, but that streak will now come to an end next year and Mickelson admitted that there's a "good chance" that he has made his last appearance at TPC Scottsdale:

Mickelson, who will turn 50 in June, won his 44th PGA Tour title in February at Pebble Beach but fell out of the top 50 in the world rankings last month for the first time in 25 years. Next week's Presidents Cup will mark the first U.S. team event without him on the roster since 1993.

New Zealand Cricket has lodged a complaint with Tauranga police over the racial abuse directed at Jofra Archer near the end of the first Test against England at Bay Oval.

Information gathered from an inquiry which included studying CCTV footage, listening to audio, interviewing bystanders and obtaining material on social media has been incorporated into the complaint. As ESPNcricinfo reported at the time, the alleged culprit contacted Archer on Instagram in the hours after the incident.

While NZC describe the information-gathering exercise as "useful" and are confident they have been able to identify the culprit, they lack the authority to conclusively and publically identify the person responsible and therefore feel "unable to comment on public speculation regarding his personal details".

Despite this, NZC chief executive David White said he believed there was enough material to justify lodging a complaint with the police especially, a press release stated, "if the Bay Oval perpetrator was to reoffend".

"What happened to Jofra was reprehensible and has led to a general upscaling of security around the area of racial abuse at all our international venues," he said.

"Should the person responsible ever reoffend, we believe we have enough information to link him to the Bay Oval incident."

White confirmed that, if a conclusive identification was forthcoming, NZC would seek to ban the offender from all its international venues "for a lengthy period".

WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman figures he'll either find himself back with the World Series champions next season -- or out of baseball.

"I think I've made my intentions pretty clear," Zimmerman said Monday night, when he attended the premiere of a documentary about last season's title. "It's either play some more here or play more golf."

The 35-year-old Zimmerman is the only player who has appeared for the Nationals in all 15 of their seasons since the franchise moved to the nation's capital from Montreal in 2005. He was the team's first pick in the amateur draft that year.

The club declined its $18 million option for next season on Zimmerman, who received a $2 million buyout and became a free agent. But he expects to return to Washington.

"Both sides want something to happen. So it's just a matter of getting something done," he said. "We'll see what happens, but I'm not too worried about it."

Zimmerman, who has earned more than $125 million in his big league career, joked that his friends "tell me I should go claim unemployment."

He dealt with injuries in 2019 and appeared in only 52 regular season games, batting .257 with six homers and 27 RBI. But he moved into the lineup during the postseason, starting Washington's last 13 games as they wound up beating the Houston Astros in the World Series for the city's first championship since 1924.

"We're riding high on a lot of emotions and a lot of Bud Light," general manager Mike Rizzo said at the documentary premiere.

Rizzo, who said he got married in Jamaica in November, said he didn't want to discuss "2020 updates right now."

He said that while he's spoken to representatives for key free agents Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon, he hasn't seen those two players face-to-face to talk about possible offers.

"We've been meeting for about 10 years, so there's no need to have a personal meeting," Rizzo said. "They know where our heart lies, and we know where their heart lies."

The Cincinnati Reds finished 12th in the National League in on-base percentage (OBP) in 2019, ahead of two teams in strong pitchers' parks and the underpowered Miami Marlins. So of course, the Reds just committed four years to a 31-year-old hitter without a position who has posted a .320 or better OBP twice in seven full seasons in the majors. Mike Moustakas might have been a good fit for a lot of clubs, but the Reds were not one of them.