The Atlanta Hawks are trying to keep their heads leveled as the team's current win streak reached 17 games after defeating the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night. Atlanta is sitting in a position no one expected, as they lead the Toronto Raptors by seven games in the Eastern Conference as they are winners of their last 31 of 33 games. That record will get challenged on Friday night as the Portland Trail Blazers come to town.
The Hawks looked on point once again on Wednesday as Paul Millsap put up 28 points and 15 rebounds while Al Horford added 20 points and 10 rebounds to give the Hawks a win over the Nets. Considering the team won all of 36 games last year, having a 38-8 record is a shock to everyone. Much of that is thanks to players simply hitting their stride. Millsap has been the star recently, averaging 23.3 points in his last three games while Horford is commanding with 18.3 points on 74.1 percent shooting over his last eight games.
The offense is not the only thing thriving as the defense currently ranks No. 1 in scoring with 96.3 points per game while allowing opponents to bring in just 96.3 points per game. That will certainly be tested with the Trail Blazers who have LaMarcus Aldridge with them. He put up 30 points against the Hawks last time around, but Atlanta shot 51.2 percent to beat them.
Portland is in a tough stretch at the moment. The team has dropped their last six of eight including four straight road games. They recently fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers as Kyrie Irving had 55 points in the win. Aldridge had 38, but Cleveland scored 31 in the first quarter and never looked back. It was the sixth time in eight games Portland gave up at least 30 points in the span of 12 minutes. Portland has the roster talent to turn things around immediately and will aim to break the momentum of the Hawks and get a much-needed road victory.
