The losing continues for the Hawks – both players and games.
The Hawks, down to 10 healthy players, fell behind by 16 points to the Trail Blazers before a fourth-quarter rally came up short in a 100-85 loss Thursday night at Philips Arena. It was the fifth straight loss for the Hawks, who are now 6-19 in their last 25 games in a stretch that includes a season-high five game win streak.
Lou Williams scored 13 fourth-quarter points as the Hawks pulled to within four points. However, the Trail Blazers were too much down the stretch as they got LaMarcus Aldridge back after a seven-game absence.
The Hawks (31-40, 20-14 home) remain in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 11 games remaining in the regular season. The have a 1-1/2 game lead over the idle Knicks. The Knicks have 10 games remaining which includes a western trip to the Suns, Warriors and Jazz.
The Hawks play seven of their remaining games at home. They must win the remainder of their games just to finish with a winning record.
Jeff Teague finished with 22 points to lead the Hawks. Williams finished with 16 points. DeMarre Carroll and Elton Brand had 11 apiece.
The Trail Blazers (46-27, 20-18 road) snapped a three-game losing streak. Aldridge had game-highs 25 points and 16 rebounds.
The Trail Blazers took a 53-37 halftime lead, pushing their lead to 16 points with Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer. The Hawks’ 37 first-half points were just three more than their season-low total for the opening two periods. The Hawks cut their deficit to six points in the third quarter before the Trail Blazers pushed back and took a 14-point edge, 78-64, into the final quarter.
The Hawks next play at the Wizards Saturday night.
Notes: Kyle Korver (back spasms) missed his fifth straight game. The starting shooting guard did some warm-up work before being declared out. Pero Antic (right ankle sprain) was also out of the lineup. The starting center suffered the injury tripping over a coach following a made 3-pointer Wednesday against the Timberwolves. Antic missed 17 games earlier this season with a stress fracture in the same ankle. He said before Thursday’s game that he did not expect to miss more than one game.
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