The Hawks will lament another blown lead.
An eight-point advantage in the third quarter slipped away as the Hawks dropped a 111-105 decision to the Pelicans Friday night at Philips Arena. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak and prevented the Hawks from moving into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Hawks (31-36, 20-12 home) are now one game behind the idle Bobcats with 15 games remaining in regular season.
Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 26 points and eight assists. Paul Millsap (20 points), Shelvin Mack (18), Pero Antic (14) and Mike Scott (10) were the other double-digit scorers.
The Hawks used a 13-1 third-quarter run and led 69-61. Then the Pelicans took over. They went on a 22-4 run to end the third and start the fourth quarter. Suddenly the eight-point lead was a 10-point deficit, 83-73 with nine minutes remaining.
The Hawks trimmed a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to as few as five before Luke Babbitt hit a 3-pointer with 3:31 remaining and the Hawks could were left to scramble. They got as close as four points in the final half minute.
The Pelicans (28-40, 12-23 road) were led by Anthony Davis had a game-high 34 points and 10 rebounds. Tyreke Evans added 21 points.
The teams entered the intermission tied 44-44. The Pelicans controlled much of the first half. They led by as many as eight points, 19-11, after an 11-2 first-quarter run.
The Hawks tied the game four times late in the second quarter but never took a lead.
The Hawks were full aware of the ability of Davis, who entered the game averaging 21.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
“Anthony Davis is one of the best young players in our league,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. “He is very versatile. His impact on the defensive end is really significant blocking shots and altering shots.”
With the injury to Kyle Korver, Lou Williams saw his first action after missing the previous seven games.
The Pelicans lost starting guard Eric Gordon to a left knee injury and he did not play the second half.
The Hawks next travel to the Raptors for a Sunday afternoon game.
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