Portland, Ore. – Dennis Schroeder led the Hawks with 14 points but Atlanta shot below 40 percent as a team in a 110-89 blowout loss to the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night.
Schroeder struggled going 5-of-14 from the field and the Hawks had 16 turnovers leading to 22 Blazers points.
Portland’s CJ McCollum led all scorers with 20 points to go along with six assists.
After a slow start for both teams, the Blazers jumped out to a 14-2 run in the middle of the first quarter, helping them to a 30-22 lead. While the Hawks would make their runs, it was a game where they chased the Blazers throughout.
The Hawks charged back in the second quarter, getting the Blazers’ lead down to one. With 4:50 left in the first half, Jusuf Nurkic and Taurean Prince had to be separated, but after a review no technical fouls were assessed.
Prince helped spark the second-quarter rally, scoring nine of his 11 points in the quarter.
After the dustup the Blazers were able to regain control, heading into halftime with a six-point lead.
The Blazers held the momentum into the second half, pushing their lead as high as 17 in the third quarter. Norcross graduate Al-Farouq Aminu was crucial in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 14 points.
In addition to the solid play from McCollum, the Blazers had great balance on the score sheet with seven players scoring in double figures.
Six days ago, the Hawks forced 20 Blazers turnovers that led to 18 points and the Hawks shot 46 percent on 3-pointers in a 15-point win.
Atlanta didn’t get their 3’s to go in the same way, going 8-of-26 (30 percent) but they forced 16 turnovers which led to 18 points.
Coach Mike Budenholzer went with a super small lineup with Kent Bazemore at power forward in the fourth quarter. But the Blazers’ lead only ballooned from there, getting to as high as 25.
The Hawks head to Los Angeles where they’ll face the Lakers Sunday night.
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