The Hawks can’t afford to look ahead – but they have a chance at a strong finish to a tough road trip.
The Hawks swept the Lakers and Clippers on back-to-back nights at the Staples Center after losing in overtime to the juggernaut Warriors. The trip continues against the Jazz Tuesday and ends against the Raptors on Thursday. With a 2-1 mark, the Hawks have a chance at the kind of streak many have been waiting for all season.
The Hawks (35-28) started last season’s undefeated January, part of 19 straight wins, with road victories over the Jazz, Trail Blazers and Clippers. It was early in the season but the trip signaled to the NBA that the Hawks were for real. Now, they have a chance to build momentum for the final 19 games of the regular season with similar road success.
“It does a lot,” Paul Millsap said Saturday after the Hawks completed the Staples Sweep. “Last night was a good win for us but tonight was a good quality win for us. This was a win we definitely needed. Hopefully, it’s a momentum boost as we go into a tough game in Utah and a tough game in Toronto.”
And they will be tough games.
The Jazz defeated the Hawks 97-96 on Nov. 15 at Philips Arena. The Hawk fell behind by seven points in the fourth quarter and Millsap missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer. The Jazz (29-33) are sub-.500 but they are fighting for a postseason berth and are 19-12 at home this season. The game will be the final on the road against a Western Conference opponent.
The Raptors (41-20) have likewise defeated the Hawks this season at Philips Arena. They overcame a 17-point first-half deficit for a 10-point win in December. The Raptors are second in the Eastern Conference, seven games ahead of the fifth-place Hawks. The teams play three times in the final 18 games. That’s farther ahead than the Hawks want to look.
The Jazz feature several familiar faces – including point guard Shelvin Mack. The Hawks dealt Mack to the Jazz at the Feb. 18 NBA trade deadline. He was stuck behind Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder in the Hawks rotation. He appeared in just 24 games and averaged 3.9 points and 1.6 assists. Mack has played in eight games for the Jazz since the deal, including seven starts. He has averaged 11.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 28.0 minutes. He is shooting 44.3 percent from the floor.
“It’s been pretty good,” Mack said told the Salt Lake Tribune after practice Monday. “I’m starting to get rhythm and get a feel for my teammates. Tomorrow is another game to go out there, have fun and compete. I still talk to those guys a lot. It was a great situation, there are no hard feelings. I’m looking forward to seeing and competing against them.”
The Jazz are coached by Quin Snyder, who was an assistant with the Hawks in Mike Budenholzer’s first season in Atlanta. Last season, strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watkinson left for the Jazz to be an assistant coach.
The Hawks defense has been solid for some time. Overall, they are second in the NBA in defensive efficiency. Of late, they have held four of their last five opponents to an under 40 percent shooting percentage.
The offense is starting to catch up, especially from 3-point range where the team is shooting 41 percent (43 of 105) over the past four games. If they Hawks can continue to play such offense on this trip, that will go a long way to a successful journey.
“A lot of positives,” Budenholzer said after the win over the Clippers. “Hopefully we can continue this. … I think this was good for our group. We needed a good quality win, especially on the road.”
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