Millsap, Hawks hand Blazers rare home loss

Hawks Take Down Trail Blazers

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PORTLAND, Ore. — Paul Millsap had 27 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 115-107 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win.

Jeff Teague added 22 points and the Hawks, playing the second game of a back-to-back, improved to 11-5 on the road, including six straight wins.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Trail Blazers, who have lost just three games at home this season. LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

The Hawks led by as many as 20 points in the second half. But down 106-96 with just under 3 minutes to go, Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer and Aldridge added a layup.

Aldridge dunked to make it 109-103 with 1:21 left, but the rally fell short.

The Hawks were coming off a 98-92 victory at Utah on Friday, which popped them into the top spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time since Dec. 27, 1997.

The Blazers got a hard-fought 102-97 overtime victory at home against Toronto on Tuesday, to extend their winning streak at the Moda Center to seven straight games.

With Matthews effectively guarding Kyle Korver, the Blazers jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after Matthews’ 3-pointer. But Atlanta went on an 18-3 run to lead 29-20 at the end of the first quarter.

The Hawks led by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, while the Blazers struggled with turnovers, finishing the half with 13.

Portland pulled to 50-47 on consecutive late baskets from Aldridge. Nicolas Batum added a layup, but the Hawks led 52-49 at the break.

The Hawks extended the lead in the second half, going up 62-51 on Millsap’s dunk. Teague’s basket pushed the advantage to 81-61.

The Blazers responded with a 14-2 run to close out the third quarter, capped by Damian Lillard‘s long 3-pointer that closed the gap to 83-75.

Portland was hurt early in the fourth when center Joel Freeland appeared to injure his right shoulder and was whisked to the locker room. Freeland had been getting more minutes in the absence of Robin Lopez, who is out with a broken hand.

TIP INS

Hawks: Blazers coach Terry Stotts was head coach of the Hawks in 2003-04, coaching the team to a 52-85 record.

Trail Blazers: Lillard was playing in his 198th consecutive game for the Blazers, ranking him second with Terry Porter on the franchise all-time list. … Singer K.D. Lang, a Portland resident, was among the fans at the game.

UP NEXT

Hawks: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.

Trail Blazers: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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