The Hawks’ revenge tour continues.
The Hawks defeated the Pelicans 99-94 Thursday night at the Smoothie King Center to avenge a loss a home to the same team last month. The Hawks did the same against the Magic the night before.
Dennis Schroder broke a tie with a 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining to give the Hawks a 91-88 lead. After Dwight Howard blocked a Buddy Hield drive the basket, Paul Millsap scored to give the Hawks a five-point end with 38.3 seconds remaining.
Millsap made two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to ice the game.
The Hawks led by seven points, 83-76 midway through the fourth quarter. The Pelicans charged with a 12-2 run to take a three-point lead. Tim Hardaway Jr. tied the game at 88-88 on a 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining to set up the Hawks’ late push.
Schroder led the Hawks with a game-high 23 points. Millsap (17), Hardaway (14) and Howard (12) also scored in double figures. Millsap and Howard had double-doubles with 10 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
The Hawks (20-16) have won five straight games and 10 of the past 14.
Anthony Davis had 20 points and 19 rebounds, with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the fourth quarter. The Pelicans (14-23) have lost two straight.
The Hawks played without Kyle Korver as the team was finalizing a trade that will send the sharpshooter to the Cavaliers.
The Pelicans broke open a close game by ending the first quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 28-23 advantage. They pushed their lead to as many as 12 points in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 47-42 lead.
The Hawks erased the deficit and held three leads in the third quarter. The last came with Malcolm Delaney was fouled with 0.7 seconds left in the period and made three free throws to give the Hawks a 75-72 lead. It was part of a 10-0 run between the third and fourth quarters as they built a seven-point lead, 79-72.
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