C Mike Muscala, who started in place of injured Dwight Howard, had 16 points. "Down the line, we all had to step up," said Muscala, who made 6 of 11 shots and had five rebounds and three assists in a career-high 33 minutes. "I felt pretty good, but I was pretty winded there before finally getting a second wind."

C/F Mike Muscala started in the middle against Milwaukee in place of Dwight Howard (quad contusion), who is averaging 14.8 points and 12.3 rebounds in his first season with the Hawks.

C Mike Muscala likely would start if injured Dwight Howard can't go against the Bucks on Wednesday. Muscala scored 14 points in 22 minutes against the Heat on Tuesday, going 6 of 7 from the floor. He also had five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

C Mike Muscala was suffering from a sore back and scored 11 points in 16 minutes Wednesday against Chicago.

C Mike Muscala was suffering from a sore back, but it didn't keep him out of the lineup on Wednesday night.

The Atlanta Hawks picked up the team option and signed backup center Mike Muscala to a contract, the club announced on Wednesday.The Hawks had until Wednesday night to pick up the option that will pay the 6-foot-11 Muscala $1.01 million next season.Muscala, 24, averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds while appearing in a career-high 60 games last season.A second-round selection of the 2013 draft, Muscala recorded personal bests in defensive rebounds (79), assists (34) and blocks (27) in 2015-16.

F/C Mike Muscala and G/F Kent Bazemore, G Dennis Schroder, and F Thabo Sefolosha all scored 12 points each for the Hawks, who won their second straight game, improved to 29-22 overall and saw eight players reach double figures.

F/C Mike Muscala had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

F/C Mike Muscala missed his second game on Friday night after spraining an ankle in Tuesday's opener.

F/C Mike Muscala (right ankle sprain) did not play Thursday against the Knicks. Muscala was hurt Tuesday against Detroit. X-rays were negative, and he is day-to-day.

F/C Mike Muscala sprained his right ankle in Tuesday night's season opener, and will he miss the Hawks' next game.X-rays were negative, but the team announced Wednesday that Muscala would not travel to New York and was out for Thursday night's game against the Knicks. Muscala was injured with 10:16 remaining in the fourth quarter in the 106-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Atlanta Hawks forward/center Mike Muscala suffered a right ankle sprain in Tuesday night's season opener and will miss the team's next game.X-rays were negative, but the team announced Wednesday that Muscala will not travel to New York and was out for Thursday night's game against the Knicks.Muscala was injured with 10:16 remaining in the fourth quarter in the 106-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

F/C Mike Muscala sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter of the opener.

Muscala played with the Hawks' summer league team, averaging 9.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.3 steals in 28 minutes per game through six contests.

Last season with the Hawks, Muscala averaged 4.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 0.4 steals in 13 minutes per game through 40 games. He showed promise in last season's playoffs, where he played 10 minutes per game through 10 post-season contests. With the departure of Pero Antic, Muscala could see a larger role with the Hawks next season.

Muscala split time between the NBA and the NBA D-League this season. He averaged 4.9 points, 0.2 three-pointers, 3.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 0.4 steals in 13 minutes per game through 40 games with the Hawks in 2014-15.

The 23-year-old, who finished his second year in the NBA, will be under team control through 2016-17. Muscala averaged 12.8 points, 0.2 three-pointers, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.7 steals in 29 minutes per game through six games in the NBA D-League. Though he played in just 40 games for the Hawks this season, he was incredibly efficient, averaging 55 percent from the field, 41 percent from three, and 88 percent from the free-throw line. Should the Hawks decide to renew Muscala's non-guaranteed contract, he will likely continue to be an efficient player off the bench in sparing minutes.

Muscala underwent surgery on his nose Wednesday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Muscala relayed before the procedure that he likely suffered a number of broken noses previously. As his offseason continues, he's subject to a team option to remain with the Hawks, which they should pick up due to its cheap $947K price tag. After logging time in 40 regular-season games last season, he picked up the pace in the playoffs, with appearances in each of the final nine contests. During that span, he averaged 4.2 points (on 60 percent shooting) and 1.8 rebounds in 11 minutes.

Muscala played scoreless nine minutes (0-2 FG) in relief of an ejected Al Horford in the overtime loss to Cavaliers on Sunday.

Muscala has been getting consistent minutes in the playoffs off the Hawk bench, but his role was a bit more urgent with Horford out. He has scored four points in the three games against the Cavaliers, and should see a handful of minutes in Game 4 on Tuesday.

Muscala did not play in Sunday's Game 1 win over Brooklyn.

Even though Al Horford suffered a dislocating finger during that game, Muscala did not come off the bench as Pero Antic and Mike Scott got the bench minutes in the front court. Although he played reasonably well when given the playing time during the regular season, Muscala is probably too far down the bench rotation to have fantasy relevance during the playoffs barring a rash of injuries to other Hawks big men.

Muscala was held to just five points (2-6 FG, 1-2 3Pt) in 24 minutes Sunday as he continues to start in place of Paul Millsap (shoulder).

Muscala had been posting decent scoring numbers with Millsap out, having only missed four shots in his first four games in April. However, don't expect Millsap to be out much longer, which will reduce Muscala's role.

Muscala will start Sunday, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

The Hawks will rest their starters Sunday, forcing Muscala into the starting rotation. He should see some extended playing time as well, and could see some additional run in future games if the team continues to rest the starters.