It’s not easy to win on the road in the NBA.
That hasn’t slowed down the Hawks. Not this season.
The Hawks set a franchise record with their 23rd road victory by defeating the Kings 110-103 Monday night at Sleep Train Arena.
The Hawks nearly lost a 13-point second-half lead but pulled away in the end to best the road mark that stood since the 1986-87 season. What would you expect from this team?
“It says we are more together,” Paul Millsap said. “When you are on the road it’s just you against the other team and the crowd. We are coming together and staying together through the course of the year.”
The Hawks (53-14, 23-10 road) won their third straight overall and are 3-1 on a season-long road trip. Having long ago clinched a playoff spot, they reduced their magic numbers to three games to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and one to clinch the Southeast Division with 15 regular-season games remaining.
It’s moving forward that the road wins will really count.
“It takes a little bit of mental toughness,” coach Mike Budenholzer said of winning on the road. “You have to have more attention to detail. You have to be more together. Things are not going to go your way on the road. I think it’s important that you establish that you can win on the road. Ultimately, if you are going to have success in the playoff, you are going to have to win on the road. That is important and we need to continue to build that way.”
The Kings closed to within a point, 100-99, before Kent Bazemore drained a corner 3-pointer with 1:06 left and Jeff Teague hit a floater in the lane 34 seconds later. Bazemore, starting in place of the injured Kyle Korver, was 1 of 7 from the field before his big shot.
“Just keep shooting,” Bazemore said. “I’ve done enough shooting since training camp to make the adjustments on the fly. Tonight, I was fading back on a lot of them. A few of them felt good, four or five of them felt great, and then I had some botches. From the corner, that’s my favorite shot. I just rose up, moved forward a little bit and let it go. It was cash. It was a great pass from Paul to find me.”
Teague led the Hawks with a game-high 23 points. He also hit four free throws in the final 16 seconds to secure the win. Millsap had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. DeMarre Carroll added 16 points, including two big fourth-quarter 3-pointers. Shelvin Mack (14), Bazemore (11) and Dennis Schroder (10) also scored in double figures.
The Hawks played without two starters with Al Horford (rest) and Korver (broken nose) out. It didn’t matter as they swept the season series against the Kings. Without Horford, Elton Brand, Pero Antic and Mike Muscala drew the assignment of guard Kings’ All-Star DeMarcus Cousins.
“Me being 36, it’s fun going out there and playing against the best,” Brand said. “I loved it. I can’t wait. I can’t wait. Pero (Antic) can’t wait to get some minutes out there. We know when the normal starters are out there our minutes don’t come as much.”
The victory was the 14th straight over the Kings, the second-longest winning streak against an opponent in franchise history. The record is 16 straight over the Nets from 1986-89. The last time the Hawks lost to the Kings was Feb. 20, 2008.
The Kings (22-44) have lost three straight and seven of the past eight games. Cousins had 20 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
The Hawks took a 54-47 lead into intermission. They went up 50-41 near the end of the second quarter with a 9-0 run. Teague scored seven of the points in the stretch.
The Hawks pushed their lead to as many as 13 points in the third quarter. The Kings rallied to pull within 82-76 headed into the final quarter.
The Hawks continue their six-game road trip with a much-anticipated rematch against the Warriors Wednesday.
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