Hawks' defense fine in close losses

[HMFFL]

Holding teams to less than 90 points in back-to-back games would usually be cause for celebration by the Hawks.

But not when you lose both games.

"When you're losing games, it's hard to get excited about the things you might have done well," Hawks forward Josh Smith said after Friday night's loss in Toronto. "Our defense was fine until it mattered, until the end of these last two games.

"We didn't do much of what we needed to do [in a loss in Milwaukee on Wednesday] or [against the Raptors], and we paid for it on the scoreboard. I think it was a combination of things, but things that we feel like can be corrected in time for our next game."

The Hawks took Saturday off but will be back at Philips Arena today to practice for Monday afternoon's Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee against a Portland team that's on a seven-game road trip of its own.

The Hawks leave Tuesday for a five-game Western Conference road trip. They've lost five straight road games and are 5-11 on the road this season. Only three teams in the Eastern Conference