Hawks lose fifth consecutive (updated)

The losing continues for the Hawks – both players and games.

The Hawks, down to 10 healthy players while missing two starters, fell behind by 16 points to the Trail Blazers and dropped a 100-85 loss Thursday night at Philips Arena. It was the fifth straight loss for the Hawks, who are now 6-19 in their last 25 games in a stretch that included a season-high five-game win streak.

The Hawks (31-40) remain in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 11 games remaining in the regular season. They now hold a 1-1/2 game lead over the idle Knicks (30-42), who have 10 games remaining which includes a western trip to the Suns, Warriors and Jazz.

The Hawks play seven of their remaining 11 games at home. They must win the remainder of their games to finish with a winning record.

They Hawks played without Kyle Korver and Pero Antic. Paul Millsap was asked if the injuries, which have plagued the team all season, wanted to make him say ‘C’mon man, enough.’

“I think we are all ‘C’mon Man’ed out,” Millsap said. “It’s happened so much. When it happens you just get out there and it’s another game. We can’t worry about that. We can’t control that. We can just control what we can control on the court.”

The Hawks have totaled 149 games lost to injury and have used 21 different lineups.

After trailing by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter, Lou Williams scored 13 points in the period as the Hawks pulled to within six points, 80-74. He scored 10 of the team’s 12 points in the run.

However, the Trail Blazers were too much down the stretch with All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge back after a seven-game absence. They outscored the Hawks 18-9 over the final 4:45.

“We are finding ourselves needing to be disciplined, needing to be focused (in stretches),” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “In those stretches where we are not it can hurt us and it can bite us and we are fighting and digging ourselves out of a hole.”

Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 22 points. The performance came a night after he was held scoreless in a loss to the Timberwolves. Williams finished with 16 points. DeMarre Carroll and Elton Brand had 11 apiece and Millsap had 10.

“I thought we should have got more stops,” Williams said of the fourth-quarter scoring output. “Offensively, we had plenty of good looks the entire game. For me, that spurt didn’t mean much. That is what I bring to the table, scoring points. I was hoping we would get some stops.

“I was a lot more aggressive. I ended up getting to the free-throw line and getting five or six free throws that fourth quarter. We didn’t get off to a great start so I just wanted to be more aggressive.”

On his 22-point effort, Teague only said “just playing.”

The Trail Blazers (46-27) snapped a three-game losing streak. Aldridge had game-highs 25 points and 16 rebounds after missing time with a back contusion.

The Trail Blazers took a 53-37 halftime lead, pushing their lead to 16 points when Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer. The Hawks’ 37 first-half points were just three more than their season-low total for the opening two periods. The Hawks cut their deficit to six points in the third quarter before the Trail Blazers pushed back and took a 14-point edge, 78-64, into the final quarter.

“It’s kind of frustrating,” Carroll said of the losing streak and injuries. “Man, that is when the strong ones survive when adversity hits. We’ve just got to rally the troops and pick up some wins by any means necessary.”