Hawks clamp off Raptors for 105-99 win
ATLANTA – If Atlanta and Toronto tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks will have the tiebreaker for home court over the Raptors thanks to an edge in the season series.
The Hawks put the defensive clamps on Toronto in the fourth quarter and took two of the three regular-season games between the teams with a 105-99 victory Friday night.
Dennis Schroder scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the Hawks (36-29) broke away from a tie at 88 to move within two games of fourth-place Toronto (38-27).
Paul Millsap had 21 points for the Hawks, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20, and Dwight Howard had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points for the Raptors, but just four came in the fourth quarter.
Serge Ibaka had 18 points before fouling out in the closing minutes, Jonas Valanciunas contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Cory Joseph had 15 points and eight assists.
The victory gave the Hawks a 3-3 record for their longest homestand of the season and the loss dropped the Raptors to 5-3 since losing Kyle Lowry to wrist surgery.
DeRozan had 13 points in the third quarter and the Raptors were up 75-74 going into the fourth.
Millsap scored 11 of his 13 first-half points in the first quarter and Hardaway all 12 of his points in the second quarter as the Hawks led 49-48 at intermission after a half in which neither team led by more than four points.
DeRozan had 11 points at intermission, with nine coming in the second quarter. Ibaka scored seven of his nine first-half points as the Raptors led 19-18 after one quarter but picked up his third foul midway in the second quarter.
The Raptors were just 2 of 12 from behind the 3-point arc but hit 14 of 17 free throws compared with 4 of 10 for the Hawks.
NOTES: F DeMarre Carroll returned to the Toronto lineup after missing a game with a sprained left ankle. ... Coach Mike Budenholzer held F Thabo Sefolosha out of Atlanta's starting lineup after the veteran was late for the team's pregame walk-through. "Friday traffic in Atlanta," Budenholzer said. G/F Tim Hardaway Jr. took Sefolosha's starting spot. ... Hawks F Mike Dunleavy (ankle) missed his eighth straight game and there remains no timetable for his return. ... The Hawks play their first road game of the month on Saturday at Memphis. ... The Raptors, like the Hawks, have a back-to-back, playing Saturday at Miami. ... The previous Raptors-Hawks games came during a two-week stretch in January at Toronto, with Atlanta winning the second 125-121 after a 128-84 blowout loss in the first.