The Atlanta Hawks continued their up-and-down play of late by grabbing a 109-104 overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers. That win came on the heels of a tough 108-107 road loss against the Sacramento Kings.
The Hawks haven’t lost back-to-back games since way back in the start of December, but they also haven’t won more than two games in a row in over a month. They’ve gone 5-4 over their last nine games.
Tim Hardaway Jr. remained hot to start February by scoring 25 points against the Blazers. Hardaway has now had four 20-plus-point games in seven games this month. Not to be outdone, the frontcourt of Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard was also outstanding in Portland. Millsap had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. He also hit the game-tying floater at the buzzer in regulation. Meanwhile, Howard had a monster night with 19 points, 16 boards, 4 blocks, and 2 steals.
The Hawks are 4-3 in their last seven road games, and are 3-4 against the spread. However, they’ve had reasonable success in their recent visits to Los Angeles. They’ve won their last two road games against the Clippers straight up, and are 7-3 against the spread in their last 10.
The Clippers are finally getting back on track with Blake Griffin aboard. After going just 1-4 in Griffin’s first five games back from a month-long layoff, the Clips have now won three games in a row against the Knicks (119-115), Hornets (107-102), and Jazz (88-72). The Clippers ended their grueling stretch of 10 road games in their last 11 with a 5-6 record.
Blake has been an absolute beast ever since his return. He’s averaging 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in nine games, and has gone for at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in three of his last four games.
Of course, the Clippers didn’t even need Blake nor Chris Paul to beat the Hawks, 115-105 in Atlanta during their first meeting of the season last month. Austin Rivers starred in that game with 27 points, while Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick added 19 and 17 points, respectively. Crawford has barely cooled off since then, as he’s averaging 18 points on 50 percent shooting in February.
The Clippers have lost back-to-back home games, but one of those was against the Golden State Warriors. Prior to those losses, they had won their previous six games at Staples Center, and went 5-1 against the spread.
Writer’s Prediction
Griffin and the Clippers (-2.5) extend their winning streak by beating the Hawks at home.
