Hawks at Kings
The Atlanta Hawks routed Sacramento seven days ago and look to notch another easy victory when they visit the Kings on Monday. Atlanta has defeated Sacramento 13 consecutive times and the 130-105 home victory last week was extremely easy. The Hawks set the tone with a 76-point first half, recorded an NBA season-high 42 assists on 53 baskets and shot 60.2 percent from the field while making 20 3-pointers, six from Kyle Korver.
Korver won’t be on the floor after breaking his nose in Sunday’s 91-86 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers but Korver and center Al Horford were previously slated to rest against the Kings. Atlanta held out starters Paul Millsap, DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague against the Lakers and all three are expected back in the lineup against Sacramento. The Kings have lost eight of their last 10 games and blew a 21-point third-quarter lead before falling to the Washington Wizards 113-97 on Saturday.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (52-14): Point guard Dennis Schroder took advantage of his chance to start by scoring a career-best 24 points and matching his season best of 10 assists and Shelvin Mack received extended minutes due to Korver’s injury and contributed 18 points. Mack will likely see a lot of playing time against the Kings to help make up for the absence of Korver’s 3-point shooting prowess. The double-digit outing was Mack’s first since Jan. 13 and his best performance since scoring 24 points – on 6-of-6 3-point shooting – in 23 minutes against Cleveland on Dec. 17.
ABOUT THE KINGS (22-43): Standout center DeMarcus Cousins is averaging 34.5 points over the last two games and ranks second in the NBA with 40 double-doubles. He had 30 points against the Wizards without sidekick Rudy Gay available due to a patellar tendon injury that will likely also sideline Gay against the Hawks. Gay has been enjoying a hot stretch in which he has topped 20 points five straight games and averaging 27.8 points during the span.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Sacramento’s last victory over the Hawks was a 119-107 home win on Feb. 20, 2008.
2. Atlanta signed F Austin Daye to a 10-day contract to help replace injured F Mike Scott (broken toe).
3. The Kings have topped 100 points in six of their last eight games.