Hawks hold on to defeat Magic

Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 24 points, six rebounds, five blocks, five assists and three steals.

The Hawks (22-19) won their second straight and ended a three-game road losing streak to tie the season series with the Magic, 2-2.

After trailing by many as six points in the fourth quarter despite, Millsap gave the Hawks a one-point lead, 106-105, with a three-point play with 1:42 remaining. The Magic got back-to-back baskets from Victor Oladipo and Jameer Nelson to take a 109-106 led with under a minute remaining. The Hawks got two free throws each from Jeff Teague and Antic, his coming with 22.8 seconds left, to regain the lead at 110-109.

Jeff Teague added 23 points. DeMarre Carroll (17), Kyle Korver (12), Antic (10), Shelvin Mack (10) and Mike Scott (10) all finished in double-digits. Pero Antic added 12 rebounds. Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 110 games with a 3-pointer.

The Magic (11-32) have lost 12 of the past 13 games. Victor Oladipo had 24 points and and Tobias Harris added 19 points.

The Magic opened the fourth quarter with an 18-4 run to completely erase what was a 19-point deficit. They got their first lead of the game with 7:55 remaining on a Kyle O’Quinn dunk. That was followed by a Maurice Harkless three-point play and an O’Quinn tip and the Magic led by six, 98-92.

The Hawks jumped out to the19-point lead, 82-63, in the third quarter with a 22-6 run. They hit five 3-pointers during the run – two each by Teague and Carroll and one by Korver. The Magic answered with a 17-6 run to end the period with the Hawks up 88-80.

The Hawks led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter and took a 60-56 lead into halftime. The Magic closed the first half with a 13-6 run to pull within four points at the break.

The Hawks took advantage of the absence of Magic center Nikola Vucevic, out with a concussion. They held advantages in rebounds (23-14) and points in the paint (36-24) through two quarters. In the first half alone, Teague converted four driving layups and two free throws after being fouled on another attempt.

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer also expected a different offensive look from the Magic without Vucevic.

“They really have played through him in the post a lot when he is healthy, particularly against us,” Budenholzer said before the game. “I think they will become a little more pick-and-roll dominant, perimeter dominant, a little smaller, more athletic, faster.”

Carroll left for the bench midway through the second quarter with an injury to his left hamstring and was attended to by trainers. He returned to start the second half but left in the third quarter and did not return with what the team described as hamstring irritation.