Hawks Top Trail Blazers 123-114
The Portland Trail Blazers had their four-game win streak snapped in Atlanta as they fell 123-114 to the Hawks.
The Trail Blazers managed to hang close in the first half, trailing 68-62 despite 23 first half points from Bogdan Bogdanovic. Portland got hot from behind the arc in the third quarter, hitting four straight 3-pointers to close within one. But that was as close as they would get, as Danilo Galinari caught fire from the outside. Gallo finished with 28 points on 7/10 from behind the arc, nearly exclusively in the second half. Portland made it a little interesting in garbage time, but the outcome was never in doubt.
Damian Lillard continued his improved play, leading the Trail Blazers with 33 points and eight assists. CJ McCollum chipped in 20. Center Jusuf Nurkic saw less involvement than in recent games, scoring four points and seeing fewer touches than of late. Carmelo Anthony scored 14 points and, in doing so, passed the great Elvin Hayes for 10th place on the NBA’s all time scoring list.
Up next for the Trail Blazers – they head to Cleveland looking to wrap up a 5-1 road trip against the Cavaliers.
