Kyle Korver put an exclamation point on his NBA record 3-point streak.
Eight of them, in fact.
Korver scored a season-high 28 points, including 8 of 10 shooting from 3-point range, as the Hawks defeated the Kings 124-107 Wednesday night at Philips Arena. It was Korver’s highest point total as a Hawk. He also tied his career-high in 3-pointer made – all while extending his streak to 95 straight games with a long-range basket.
“I got a lot of really good looks tonight,” Korver said. “Usually, you don’t get that many. That was a product of our spacing and everybody knocking down shots. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of good looks that last few games and I haven’t shot the ball as well as I would have liked. It was nice to have a better night.
“Both the ones I missed I should have made. They were wide open.”
It was the Hawks’ highest point total this season, set for the second consecutive game.
The Hawks (14-12, 10-4 home) won for the 12th straight time over the Kings, including seven in Atlanta. They have won two straight and three of the past four games to move two games over .500. The Hawks were a season-best three games over .500 in November at 8-5.
Al Horford finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and a steal as six Hawks finished in double figures, including all five starters.
“I want to do whatever it takes to help us win,” Horford said. “I don’t know if every night I can put up these great numbers. But definitely I want to keep getting better and why not shoot for that. I just know that I have to keep working.”
Jeff Teague had 18 points, tied a career-high with 15 assists and tied a career-high with eight rebounds – two shy of a triple-double. DeMarre Carroll (15 points), Paul Millsap (14) and Scott (10) scored in double digits.
Teague said he had a conversation with coach Mike Budenholzer before the game about getting eight to 10 rebounds to help against the Kings big men.
“I said ‘I’ll get ‘em.’” Teague said. “I was just joking. I should have gotten them.”
The Kings (7-17, 2-7 road) have lost two straight and four of five. DeMarcus Cousins (28 points), Rudy Gay (22) and Isaiah Thomas (20) led Sacramento
The Hawks started the fourth quarter on an 18-8 run that included two 3-pointers each from Korver and Mike Scott to break open a close game. It was a message about getting defensive stops that spurred the decisive run. The Hawks had allowed 33 third-quarter points and that wasn’t going to be good enough.
“The basic message was we are not going to win if we give them 30-plus points,” Budenholzer said of his words of wisdom entering the final period. “We are not going to just trade baskets. We are going to have to have a defensive quarter. We are going to have to hold them to 20 or 22 if we want to win this game. It was really about our defense coming out of the third quarter.”
The Hawks outscored the Kings 39-20 in the final quarter.
“The guards penetrated, the defense collapsed and I just hit the open shot,” Scott said of his momentum-building baskets. “They just got me the ball and I just finished it.”
The Kings led 87-85 after three quarters following a back-and-forth period. The quarter featured 14 lead changes and seven ties.
The Kings took a 54-53 halftime lead although the Hawks led by 14 points in the first quarter.
The Hawks led 26-12 after making 11 of 15 shots to open the game, including three 3-pointers from Millsap. The Kings took the lead with a 21-4 run to end the first and start the second quarter. The Hawks committed seven first-quarter turnovers to let the Kings back in the game.
The Hawks answered with a 17-7 run, as the Kings went 5:38 with just one field goal, for a 47-40 lead. The Hawks had just one field goal of their own over the final 4:29 of the second quarter.
“I like the way our group started tonight and I like the way our group finished tonight,” Budenholzer said. “I think in the middle there are a lot of things for us to work on, a lot of things for us to improve – particularly defensively. That’s always the goal. We are trying to get to 48 minutes of good defense, good offense and those cycles where we are doing both. The ball movement and the shooting were both to be commended. The shooters can’t make shots unless the ball gets to them on time, on target. And then shooters have to make shots. Tonight was one of those nights when we were fortunate.”
The Hawks conclude a three-game homestand on Friday against the Jazz.
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