The Hawks let one slip through their fingers.
Atlanta couldn’t hold an 11-point third-quarter lead and Jeff Teague committed three costly fourth-quarter turnovers in a 104-93 loss to Portland Friday night at Philips Arena.
It was costly loss for the Hawks (38-31), a team still searching for an identity this late in the season. They remained fifth in the Eastern Conference playoff race but lost an opportunity to close in on a chance to host a first-round playoff series.
Coach Larry Drew immediately addressed the team’s defensive breakdowns, especially late in the game when the Trail Blazers used the 3-point shot to overwhelm the Hawks. The Trail Blazers were 9 of 11 from long range in the second half. They were 1 of 7 in the first two quarters.
“Defensively, we’ve got to get grimy again,” Drew said. “It’s not about coming out and trying to run up and down and exchange baskets with a team. We’ve got to have some kind of defensive presence. Tonight, we did not have that. As we move forward, not knowing what’s going to happen from a playoff standpoint, we’ve got to get back to that blue-collar mentality with our defense. Our defense is really starting to let us down.”
The loss keeps the Hawks with a magic number of three to clinch the team’s sixth straight playoff berth.
It was turnovers and poor shot selection, especially in the decisive fourth quarter, that did in the Hawks. A three-point lead entering the final period quickly evaporated as the Hawks made just 6 of 18 shots.
“When they are bad shots out of the offense and they are shots that don’t belong being shot at that point in time and that place, that really hurts us,” center Al Horford said.
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He made just 9 of 21 shots, missing four 3-pointers. It was also a poor shooting night for Horford, who finished with 15 points of 7 of 18 shooting and 17 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in 28 straight games and has a double-double in 10 of last 11 games, including six straight. Teague added 21 points.
“That compounds things,” Drew said of the late turnovers. “When you turn the basketball over it magnifies the defense. You are not able to get the defense back to get set. It almost becomes a trickle effect. Then you throw bad shot selection in on that. When you are 69 games into the season at some point it’s got to click in on what it takes to win. These guys have been doing this for a very long time. We are 13 games left in the regular season and this is no time to deviate.”
The Trail Blazers (33-36) won their second straight game, including a road win at Chicago Thursday. They were led by Wesley Matthews with a game-high 28 points. Damian Lillard added 22 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 and J.J. Hickson had 15.
The Trail Blazers outscored the Hawks 14-4 to end the game. They broke open a 90-89 lead in the final five minutes.
The Hawks went on a 21-10 run to start the second half and grabbed an 11-point lead, 66-55. Smith scored 10 third-quarter points as the Hawks had six dunks in the period.
The Trail Blazers closed the gap to three points, 76-73, going into the fourth quarter. Five of their final seven baskets of the third were 3-pointers. Matthews had 14 third-quarter points, making 4 of 4 3-pointers. Two more 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter gave the Trail Blazers a 79-78 lead they would not relinquish on a long-range basket from Lillard with 9:54 remaining.
“One I had the ball just slipped out of my hand,” Teague said of the turnovers. “I saw Al was wide open and I just didn’t put enough on it. It wasn’t their defense.”
The game was tied 45-45 at halftime. The Trail Blazers led by as many as six points in the first quarter as the Hawks started the game 1 for 7 with three turnovers. The Hawks led by as many as seven points in the second quarter.
Smith had 10 first-half points for the Hawks and Horford had nine points and 10 rebounds. The Trail Blazers got 15 first-half points from Aldridge as they held a 30-18 points-in-the-paint advantage.
“I told the guys we have to figure out who we are and where we’re at at this point of the year,” Horford said. “We can’t keep having this. We just need to figure out who we are. I know at this point of the year you should know. I think that we know but I’m hoping that now, with the games remaining, we are able to put it together.
The Hawks begin a four-game road trip, the last multi-city trip of the season, Sunday in Milwaukee. When they return from games at the Bucks, Pacers, Raptors and Celtics, the Hawks will have six of their remaining nine games at home.
Notes
Kyle Korver extended his streak to 62 consecutive games with a 3-pointer. He moved past Terry Porter for 30th on the NBA’s all-time 3-point field goal made list. … The multi-car hit-and-run accident on Spring Street that snarled downtown traffic Friday afternoon prevented the Trail Blazers from arriving at Philips Arena until 6:10 p.m. … DeShawn Stevenson was in the Hawks starting lineup after suffering a lower right leg contusion in Wednesday’s win over the Bucks. Stevenson left in the second quarter and did not return. … Point guard Ray Williams, who played 19 games with the Hawks during the 1985-86 season, died of cancer at the age of 58. Lillard entered Friday’s game as the top-scoring rookie in the NBA with a 19.0 points per game average.
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