The Hawks went cold in the fourth quarter. Bad timing.
The Pelicans went on a 16-3 run in the final period to erase a seven-point deficit en route to a 105-100 victory over the Hawks Wednesday night at New Orleans Arena.
The Hawks (25-23) lost their second straight games and for only the second time in the past five road games.
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 26 points and 10 rebounds. DeMarre Carroll finished with a career-high 22 points. The Hawks also got 16 points from Mike Scott and 11 points apiece from Jeff Teague and Lou Williams.
Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 117 games with a 3-pointer. Scott scored in double figures for the 14 straight game off the bench.
The Pelicans (21-27) won for only the second time in the past 11 games. Anthony Davis finished with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was aware of the challenge presented by Davis.
“It’s about Davis, he’s a really good young player,” Budenholzer said before the game. “He’s got great length and does a lot of things extremely well. He”’ have a big impact on the defensive end of the floor with blocked shots and his overall play. He’s become a good shooter.”
The Hawks trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter. They trimmed the Pelican’s advantage to just three, 98-95, with under a minute remaining. However, Brian Roberts scored on a layup with 20.5 seconds remaining. After a Millsap miss, Austin Rivers sunk a pair of free throws with 16.1 seconds left to end any notion of a Hawks comeback at 102-97.
The Hawks took a 75-71 lead into the fourth quarter as they used the long ball. Six of their nine third-quarter baskets were 3-pointers, including three straight from Millsap. The All-Star also made an impression with a huge dunk over the Pelicans’ Greg Stiemsma.
The Hawks took a 51-47 lead into halftime despite trailing by as many as eight points in the second quarter. The Hawks ended the half on a 16-4 run, which included four 3-pointers, to take the advantage. Carroll hit two straight 3-pointers to end the run. Scott and Korver also connected from long range as the Hawks outscored the Pelicans 27-19 in the second quarter.
The Hawks next host another Western Conference opponent in the Grizzlies Saturday.
