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ATLANTA - As the Atlanta Hawks continue to roll, the Portland Trail Blazers are mired in their worst stretch of the season.
Looking to surpass their victory total from last season, the Hawks can extend their team-record winning streak to 18 by handing the Trail Blazers a fifth consecutive road defeat Friday night.
Paul Millsap had 28 points with 15 rebounds and Al Horford added 20 points, 10 boards and five assists to lift Atlanta (38-8) to a 113-102 victory over pesky Brooklyn on Wednesday. Leading Toronto by seven games in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks have won 31 of 33 and own the longest winning streak in the NBA in 2014-15.
San Antonio won 19 in a row last season.
"We're trying to grow and improve," said coach Mike Budenholzer, whose team made the playoffs last season as the eighth seed with a 38-44 record.
"We want to keep our mindset there, just play each night, go out there and compete. That's been good for us so far."
Millsap has averaged 23.3 points in three games, and his 3-pointer from the corner with 2:34 remaining Wednesday helped end a Nets charge and kept the Hawks in control.
"Paul was aggressive," said Horford, who has averaged 18.3 points, 74.1 percent shooting, 8.1 boards and 5.4 assists in his last eight contests. "When he plays like that, we're tough to beat."
The Hawks, who lead the NBA in scoring defense at 96.3 points per game, had allowed 90.1 while holding eight straight opponents to fewer than 100. They'll try to tighten things back up after Minnesota reached 100 on Sunday and the Nets totaled two more.
INJURY REPORT
Portland: Nic Batum (right wrist sprain) is probable. Robin Lopez (right hand fracture) is out. Joel Freeland (right shoulder strain) is out.
Atlanta: Shelvin Mack (left calf strain) is out.
Participation Status Key:
Probable – 75% chance that the player will play in the game
Questionable – 50% chance that the player will play in the game
Doubtful – 25% chance that the player will play in the game
Out – Player will not play in the game
Projected Starters
SF
PF
C
SG
PG
Season Series
Previous Games
Series Notes
- The Trail Blazers are 18-3 against the Eastern Conference, while Atlanta is 12-2 against the Western Conference.
- Wesley Matthews is ranked first in the NBA with 138 three-pointers, while Atlanta’s Kyle Korver is ranked second in the league with 135 threes.
- Aldridge has recorded five double-doubles in his past seven games against the Hawks.
- Portland has won two consecutive games against the Hawks in Atlanta.
Promotions
In Portland's Last Game
On Wednesday night in Cleveland, his point guard counter part, Kyrie Irving, returned the favor.
Irving went for a career-high 55 points, with his last points coming by way of a game-winning three with 6.4 seconds to play, to outshine a stellar game by LaMarcus Aldridge and defeat the Trail Blazers 99-94 Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 20,562.
“Obviously, Irving hit a great shot at the end,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “Well contested, well defended shot. He put on a great show. I was proud of the way we got back into the game. Take the lead. We had our chances to win it.”
With the loss, the Trail Blazers fall to 32-14 on the season and 12-9 on the road. Portland is now 5.5 games behind Golden State for the best record in the Western Conference, but still hold a nine-game lead over Oklahoma City for the top spot in the Northwest Division.
Despite playing without LeBron James, who sat out Wednesday night’s game with a strained right wrist, and shooting just 37 percent from the field, the Cavaliers managed to score 31 points in the first quarter, which is the sixth time in the last eight games that the Trail Blazers have given up at least 30 points in the first 12 minutes.
“We’ve had some slow starts the last seven, eight games in the first quarters,” said Lillard. “We get better over the course of the game but I think we’ve just got to be able to do it for 48 minutes instead of waiting until it’s a dogfight to just kind of lock down and do what we need to do.”