Next on the Hawks’ to-do list — protect a big lead.
The Hawks lost a 17-point third-quarter advantage, but rallied for a 104-94 victory over the Magic on Saturday night at Philips Arena.
The victory was the Hawks’ 11th consecutive over the Magic, including seven at home. The Hawks have scored more than 102 points in all six games this season.
The Hawks (3-3) nearly lost a 19-point lead in a win over at the Kings on Tuesday and couldn’t hold an eight-point fourth-quarter lead in a loss at the Nuggets on Thursday. They also had an 18-point lead against the Raptors in their home opener before sweating out a victory.
Paul Millsap had his third consecutive double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks. Mike Scott added 17 big points off the bench.
Jeff Teague (19 points), Al Horford (14) Kyle Korver (14) and DeMarre Carroll (12) were the other double-digit scorers for the Hawks. Carroll had two big rebounds in the final minutes to help prevent another Magic comeback.
Arron Afflalo led the Magic (3-4) with 21 points, including a deep 3-pointer with 3:47 left that gave his team an 88-87 lead. However, the Hawks went on a 10-0 run to put the game away. The Hawks got a Korver 3-pointer and Teague layup after consecutive steals in the run.
The Hawks opened the second half on a 18-2 run to take a 17-point advantage, 64-47. Carroll had 10 of the points, including two 3-pointers. Carroll was slumping from 3-point range this season, as he entered the game 4-of-20. He said he went to Philips Arena on Friday after the Hawks returned from Denver to work on his shot.
The big lead was short-lived.
The Magic responded with a 24-6 run to retake the lead, 71-70, setting up the final quarter.
Korver extended his streak to 79 consecutive games with a 3-pointer. He is tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history with Michael Adams. Korver needs 10 more games with a long-range basket to tie the all-time streak of 89 held by Dana Barros.
The Hawks took a 46-45 lead into intermission. They led by as many as eight points in the first quarter. The Hawks made 13 of 21 first-quarter shots, a .619 percentage, with 11 assists.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer coached, and later coached with, Magic coach Jacque Vaughn in San Antonio.
“I feel like I learned more from him than he learned from me. He was very attentive both as a player and when he joined the staff in San Antonio. He wanted to be involved in everything, learn everything, so he was like a sponge. As a player and a coach, he gave a lot to the staff when he was there.”
The Hawks play at the Bobcats on Monday.
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