Kyle Korver dunked. Pay up Elton Brand
That is the height that this current Hawks winning streak has reached. The Hawks sharp-shooter threw down two points, his first in two years, as an early exclamation point on another impressive victory.
Atlanta led by as many as 27 points en route to a 110-91 victory over Indiana Wednesday night at Philips Arena. The NBA’s hottest team tied the franchise record for consecutive victories at 14, a mark set in 1993. The win was also the 28th in the past 30 games for the Hawks, who have lost just twice since Nov. 28.
The Hawks clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference by the All-Star Game cutoff date of Feb. 1, meaning Mike Budenholzer and his staff will coach in New York. The Hawks lead the Wizards by six games in the East.
“I’m fairly young and I’m not much of a historian,” Budenholzer said of the win streak. “I know they’ve had a lot of great teams here, a lot of great players. Coaches, we tend to look more forward and in the moment. I’m going to try to keep our group there.”
The Hawks (35-8, 18-3 home) won their fourth straight over the Pacers. The Hawks jumped to a 10-point lead in the first quarter and improved to 30-1 this season when they hold a double-digit advantage at any point during a game.
The Hawks placed six players in double-figure scoring, led by DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague with 17 points each. Teague added 11 assists for another double-double. Al Horford (14 points), Paul Millsap (12), Pero Antic (12) and Korver (10) were the other double-digit scorers.
All 12 players who entered the game scored, including John Jenkins and Mike Muscala who played less than three minutes. The Hawks had 30 assists on their 39 field goals.
The Pacers (15-29) lost their sixth straight. C.J. Miles led them with a game-high 18 points. The Hawks entered the game as the NBA leader in fewest points allowed at 96.3 points per game. That stat just got a little bit better.
The Hawks took a 52-41 advantage into intermission as they led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.
How good were things going for the Hawks? Korver ended a fast break with a dunk with 9:01 left in the second quarter. Kent Bazemore started a break with a steal and passed off to Horford streaking down the center of the court. With Korver on his right, Horford left a pass that Korver finished with a one-handed jam. It was his first dunk since the 2012-13 season against the Kings and the 16th of his career.
That will trend online.
“I stopped caring about dunks a long time ago,” Korver said. “In the preseason we had some guys talking about how it had been awhile since I had one. Dennis (Schroder) didn’t believe that I could dunk. He asked me after the game it that was my first one.
“Elton (Brand) made a bet with me, a $100 bet, on what would happen first, me dunk or him hit a 3. I’ve been watching him practice his corner 3s. He was getting really good.”
The Hawks opened the third quarter on a 13-4 run, with Teague and Carroll hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, to grab a 20-point lead, 65-45. The advantage would grow to 27 points.
The Hawks continued their inspired play. Carroll dove for a steal, with the Hawks up 25 points, and called a timeout. The entire team, including the bench, rushed to help him off the floor.
“They don’t call me the Junkyard Dog for nothing,” Carroll said of the play. “I always play hard, no matter what. I don’t take this game for granted.”
Korver was 2 of 4 from 3-point range. He is shooting .620 (31 of 50) from long range in the past eight games. Horford had four defensive rebounds to move past Dan Roundfield for fifth in franchise history with 3,118.
The seven-game homestand continues against the Thunder Friday.
“We are just playing basketball,” Antic said. “We don’t think about records or anything. We play basketball.”
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