Hawks coach Larry Drew had occasionally hinted at drastic lineup changes since before the All-Star game, but never made the move.
Finally, with the Hawks scuffling to score and matching their season-long losing streak with a loss at Chicago on Friday night, Drew had seen enough.
The coach moved point guard Jeff Teague into the starting lineup against the Trail Blazers on Friday. Kirk Hinrich moved to shooting guard and Joe Johnson to small forward, while Marvin Williams came off the bench.
"We've lost four in a row. I've got to shake things up," Drew said before the game. "We'll see if we start with more energy."
That's exactly what the Hawks got from Teague, the team's quickest guard. His zip helped send the Hawks to a 91-82 victory over the Blazers at Philips Arena.
Teague tied his career high with 24 points and also had five steals and three blocked shots while pushing the pace at most every chance. In a game where scoring didn't come easily, points from Hawks reserves Jamal Crawford (20 ) and Damien Wilkins (12) were key.
"We're at home," Teague said. "We've got to try to play an up-tempo game and get some easy buckets because our shots weren't falling lately. Getting some easy run-outs and things like that helped."
The Hawks completed the two-game season sweep of the Blazers, who had a flat effort while finishing their four-game trip against Eastern Conference opponents. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points, but Portland shot only 35 percent from the field.
The Hawks were dragging early until Teague's quickness and craftiness awoke them from their slumber. His personal 6-0 run sent the Hawks to a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.
"Coach told us to get up there and put on the pressure and try to overplay the passing lanes and make something happen," Teague said. "I got my hands on a couple of the balls. I got lucky."
Teague started the spurt with a steal that led to his free throw. Teague poked the ball away again and raced in for a dunk, then had yet another steal that resulted in his 3-pointer.
That sequence energized the Hawks and the sleepy home crowd. Teague kept it up early in the second quarter, coming from several paces down court to block Patty Mills' shot, assisting on Damien Wilkins' transition score and taking a rebound and sprinting for a basket.
Teague's play satisfied Drew's desire to add more energy to the lineup.
"He gave it to me in a big way tonight," Drew said. "He was absolutely sensational from start to finish on both ends of the floor. Defensively he did a great job of picking the ball up and harassing the ball. His speed and his quickness is just something we don't have.
"When we put him in games, we rely on him to be a nuisance defensively and offensively just to stay in the attack mode. Tonight he was in attack mode from start to finish at both ends of the floor."
The Hawks trailed 38-35 at halftime and were down 54-39 in the third quarter because only Teague and Wilkins were scoring much. Then Crawford, Josh Smith and Joe Johnson joined in, and the Hawks were off on a 18-7 run that gave them a 57-52 lead.
The Hawks led 62-54 entering the fourth quarter and kept the pressure on with their scoring. They opened the quarter with a 13-5 run and led by as many as 18 points en route to 29 in the period.
Center Zaza Pachulia, who subbed for injured starter Al Horford (ankle), also gave the Hawks a lift. He twice stopped Portland center Marcus Camby from scoring at the basket in the first quarter, setting the stage for Pachulia and Smith to make it tough inside for Camby and Aldridge.
Williams, who has started 41 of 49 games this season, has expressed his disdain for coming off the bench. But after he had one rebound in 18 minutes at Chicago, Williams had eight to help the Hawks beat Portland 40-34 on the boards.
Horford suffered a left ankle injury during a 94-76 loss at Chicago on Friday night. He finished that game, but Drew said he was too sore to play against Portland.
