Hawks 105, Trail Blazers 99
Paul Millsap collected 21 points and eight rebounds as Atlanta used a big fourth quarter to turn away visiting Portland and extend its franchise-record winning streak to 18 straight.
Al Horford added 17 points and eight boards while Kyle Korver scored 16 for the Hawks, who used a 36-25 advantage in the fourth to erase a deficit. Jeff Teague contributed 13 points and eight assists while Kent Bazemore scored 12 off the bench and Mike Scott knocked down three 3-pointers en route to 11 points for the Hawks.
LaMarcus Aldridge tried to keep the Trail Blazers in the game by himself with 37 points on 15-of-24 shooting and 11 rebounds. Wesley Matthews added 16 points but Damian Lillard slumped to 13 on 6-of-20 shooting as Portland fell for the seventh time in nine games.
Matthews drained a 3-pointer to pull the Trail Blazers within 92-91 with 4:11 left, but Dennis Schroder answered with a layup and Millsap connected from beyond the arc to spread the lead back to six points. Matthews’ free throws with 58 seconds remaining cut the deficit to 103-99, but Korver knocked down a pair of free throws and the Hawks held the lead.
Portland took a 51-50 lead into the half and extended it out to a five-point gap heading into the fourth. The Trail Blazers went nearly three minutes without a field goal at the start of the fourth and Atlanta took advantage, getting 3-pointers from Scott and Korver in a 12-2 run beginning the frame that left the Hawks on top for good.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Bazemore ended up playing 40 minutes off the bench after starting G Thabo Sefolosha left the game in the first quarter with a calf injury. … Atlanta F DeMarre Carroll (general soreness) did not play and is day-to-day. … Lillard went 1-of-9 from 3-point range but handed out 11 assists.