The streak lives – in record fashion.
Kyle Korver returned to the Hawks lineup and wasted no time in extending his now NBA-record to 89 consecutive games with a 3-pointer. After missing four games with a rib contusion, Korver opened the scoring for the Hawks with a 3-pointer just 30 seconds into Wednesday’s game against the Clippers at Philips Arena. Korver tied the mark of Dana Barros which has stood since Jan. 1996. He can own the record outright with another Friday against the Cavaliers.
The record-tying basket came in the Hawks impressive 107-97 win over the Clippers, a game they led by as many as 17 points. Korver finished with a season-high 23 points but he had lots of help.
“I’m glad it’s done,” Korver said of the record he has been reluctant to talk about. “It was over a long period of time. Then this rib thing happens and it’s like ‘C’mon man, I just want to get this thing over with.’ The happiest person is probably my wife. I was not fun to be around the last five days at the house. I don’t know what to do. I can’t really exercise or do things. The team is out on the road so I can’t be out and about. I’m just sitting at home watching season one of ‘Arrow.’ I can’t do anything. I don’t think I was very pleasant to be around. I glad it’s done.”
The Hawks (10-10, 6-3 home) snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the second time in the past seven games.
Paul Millsap finished with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks. Al Horford added 21 points and nine rebounds. DeMarre Carroll and Shelvin Mack were the other double-digit scorers with 12 points each. Mack filled in for Jeff Teague, who was in foul trouble throughout the game.
“As far as the whole overall game, I feel like this was one of our best games of the season,” Millsap said.
The Hawks had a season-best 12 3-pointers and .522 shooting percent from beyond the arc. Korver hit six of his nine attempts.
The Clippers (12-7, 4-5 road) dropped their second straight game. They entered the game second in the NBA in scoring at 106.4 points per game before being stymied by the Hawks. It was the Clippers’ fifth straight loss at Philips Arena.
Blake Griffin had 24 points and Chris Paul added a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists.
The Hawks led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter and took a 55-44 lead into intermission. The Hawks used a 12-2 first-quarter run, which included nine straight points from Millsap, to take command early. The Clippers only lead came at 2-0 on a basket 14 seconds into the game.
The Hawks extended their lead to 16 points in the third quarter. The Clippers used an 11-2 run to get as close as seven points but the Hawks took a nine-point advantage into the final quarter. The lead would grow to as much as 17 points in the fourth.
The Hawks picked up with the improved pace they played with in Monday’s 102-100 last-second loss at the Spurs. The Hawks had gotten away from the tempo during the recent losing streak.
“I think the pace and the purposed we played with our last couple of games has been what we want it to be,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “To be honest, it starts with defense. If you are taking the ball out of the net a lot, it’s hard. I thought we got enough stops. I thought we gang rebounded. We are able to get out and run. We executed our motion pretty good. Then we were able to execute some half-court traditional sets and looks. It was a little mix of everything. I think the pace is always something we will be harping on and make a priority.”
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