GT: Hawks (38-8) vs Trail Blazers (32-14)

[Rip2137]

Man huge game from bazemore. Way to step up.

[Hawk Eye]

VERY impressive win!!

Bazemore stepped up and played fantastic man, really impressed with his progress this season.

[DirtybirdGA]

Hawks win..felt like a boxing match and slugged it out

[Rip2137]

I am one of those lurkers on the opposing teams boards during games. It always feels a little better to beat a team whose board has those sprinkles of disrespectful comments. So I am REALLY enjoying this win.

[ATL Boy]

[atlantabbq99]

Great grind it out win tonight!!!! Its good to know that the Hawks can win these type of games

Great job by Baz to step it up. Mike Scott was super man tonight and offensively was the spark that brought the Hawks back from being down.

But i'll give the player of the game to Teague. He didn't have a great offensive night, but his defense on Lillard was smothering, flat out elite, and just shut down DL the whole night. On top of that, Teague's Hakeem fake is the best play of the year.

[Jamaaliver]

AJC Soundbytes on the Hawks:

...to illustrate how dominate the Hawks have been during this streak we steal a factoid from the great AJC columnist Mark Bradley. The Hawks entered the fourth quarter against the Trail Blazers trailing 74-69. It was the first time since the 8:04 mark of the Dec. 27 game at the Bucks that the Hawks trailed in the fourth quarter – 17 games and 33 days ago. The Hawks went on to win that game too.

Here

Bazemore scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, and most importantly played a career-high 39 minutes and 55 seconds in the Hawks’ 18th straight victory. The third-year pro from Old Dominion set a trend, yet was not alone as the Hawks’ reserves outscored Portland subs 38-18 in Philips Arena.

"For Kent Bazemore to come in and play the way he did, and play as many minutes as he did [was important],” said head coach Mike Budenholzer. “John Jenkins for four minutes, those were an important four minutes. Dennis, in the second half, was good. Mike Scott hit some 3s and changes the momentum [in the fourth quarter].”

Here

The Hawks now have the best record in the NBA after the Warriors lost to the Jazz Friday to drop to 36-8.

Starting small forward DeMarre Carroll missed the game due to a left Achilles strain. His replacement Thabo Sefolosha left the game after just 2:21 with a right calf strain.

Enter Kent Bazemore. The wing came in and played a team-high 40 minutes and had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. He was not alone.

Here

Dennis Schroder drove for a layup. The 21-year-old had some moments when he looked his age, but he changed the game when it needed changing.
Schroder’s fourth-quarter line: Six points, four assists. That’s your backup point guard, folks. That’s the guy from Germany with the streak in his hair and the flash in his step. To see him this January is to recall what we said of Glavine and Avery and Smoltz in September 1991: “And they’re only going to get better.”

Here

[ATL Boy]

We're so good right now, and we have Schroder still improving, along with Payne, Tavares, and a possible lotto pick just waiting for their turn. Coach Bud and Danny Ferry (Free DF!) have layed the foundation to a potential dynasty.