STREAKING
The Hawks’ current win streak against Sacramento ties for the third longest in franchise history:
Opp.; Wins; 1st game; Last game
N.J. Nets; 16; 2/22/1986; 2/15/1989
S.F. Warriors; 13; 3/2/1964; 11/13/1965
Sacramento Kings; 13; 2/27/2008; Current
Toronto Raptors; 12; 11/25/1995; 4/1/1998
Washington Wizards;12; 3/17/2008; 2/5/2011
The Hawks’ dominance of the Kings continues — in a big way.
Atlanta led by as many as 28 points en route to a record-setting 130-105 victory against Sacramento on Monday night at Philips Arena. The victory was the 13th in a row in the series, tying for second-longest streak against an opponent in franchise history. The Hawks defeated the San Francisco Warriors 13 times in a row. The record is 16, set against the New Jersey Nets from 1986-89. The Hawks’ last loss to the Kings came Feb. 20, 2008.
The Hawks set several season and franchise marks in the lopsided win:
- The 130 points was a season high. The also set season highs for points in any half (76) and any quarter (43).
- The 20 made 3-pointers was a franchise record.
- The 42 assists were the most by any NBA team this season and the most for the Hawks since 1993.
- The 50 wins are the most in the NBA this season and seven shy of the franchise record.
“We are trying to do something special,” the Hawks’ Kyle Korver said. “If you approach every day the right way, good things happen along the way. That’s all this is. I don’t think anyone is going to go home and brag about it or write home to mom. It was fun night.”
The Hawks (50-13, 30-4 home) increased their lead in the Eastern Conference to 11 games with 19 regular-season games remaining. Their magic number to clinch the Southeast Division is four.
Winners of six of the past seven games, the Hawks rested three starters in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. They responded to the time off.
DeMarre Carroll and Korver led the Hawks with 20 points apiece. Jeff Teague and Al Horford added 18 points each. The Hawks also got double-digit scoring from Paul Millsap (13) and Dennis Schroder (12). Teague added 13 assists.
Korver was 6 of 8 and Carroll was 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Teague recorded his 41st career point/assist double-double to tie Jason Terry and Eddie Johnson for fourth in franchise history. Every available Hawk player scored.
“We are just unselfish,” Carroll said. “We don’t care who gets the glory. This is a high-character team. I think that is why we are so unselfish because we’ll pass up a good shot to get a great shot. If you’ve got guys like that on your team who don’t care who gets the glory that’s what happens. You set the record for assists.”
The Kings (21-41) have lost four in a row and six of the past seven games. Rudy Gay led the Kings with a game-high 23 points. DeMarcus Cousins was limited to 12 points and 14 rebounds.
“That would probably be one of the things that was a big emphasis coming into the game,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “DeMarcus Cousins is such a good low-post player. If you can limit his catches, especially deep where he is so effective, I thought our guys worked really hard to make his catches tough. That’s not easy to do. It takes the whole group working together. Al (Horford) and Elton (Brand) mostly but others switched on him. The activity of our post defense is something we can build on.”
The Hawks took a 76-54 lead into intermission. By quarter, the Hawks scored 33 points in the first and 43 points in the second. The first-half and second-quarter totals were season-highs for any half and any quarter, respectively. The Hawks shot 62.5 percent (30 of 48) from the field and 63.2 percent (12 of 19) from 3-point range. The Hawks assisted on 25 of their 30 field goals in the half, nine shy of their season-high for a game. They entered the game second in the NBA in assists per game at 25.5.
The Hawks limited Cousins to eight first-half points, six coming from the free-throw line. The All-Star center didn’t make his first field goal until 48.7 seconds remained in the second quarter.
The Hawks improved to 42-3 on the season when holding a lead of 10 or more points at any point during the game. One of those losses came Saturday against the 76ers when Carroll, Korver and Millsap all did not play.
Pero Antic missed his second game in a row because of a left ankle sprain. However, the reserve center was on the active list and rookie Jarell Eddie was inactive in an oversight.
The Hawks begin a six-game, 11-day trip Wednesday at the Denver Nuggets. The Hawks and Kings will meet again next week.
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