Hawks, looking to seal No. 5 seed, face Hornets
ATLANTA -- Ten days ago, the Atlanta Hawks were in the middle of an epic losing streak and had fallen dangerously close to the playoff line.
Now, as they host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday in their final home game of the regular seasons, the Hawks are one win away from clinching fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta (42-38) is riding a three-game winning streak and is fresh from taking back-to-back games against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks endured a streak that saw them lose seven straight and nine out of 11, recovering to ensure a playoff appearance for a franchise-best 10th straight season, the longest active streak in the Eastern Conference.
If Atlanta defeats the Hornets on Tuesday, the Hawks would clinch fifth place. The Hawks hold a half-game lead over Milwaukee, but they hold the tiebreaker over the Bucks (42-39). Atlanta finishes the season on Wednesday at Indiana.
Charlotte (36-45) will be trying to play the role of spoiler. The Hornets have been eliminated from the playoffs, but they have won all three meetings with Atlanta this season -- 100-96 and 105-90 in Charlotte and 107-99 in Atlanta.
Atlanta has not said whether it will rest any regulars for the final two games. The Hawks likely will play it fairly straight against the Hornets in hopes of nailing down fifth place. That would give them a chance to rest the regulars in the season finale.
"We are constantly discussing that," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We haven't made any final decisions."
The Hawks hope to get guard Thabo Sefolosha back from a right groin strain that has caused him to miss eight games. The team upgraded him to questionable for the Charlotte game.
The Hawks want to build on the momentum of their three-game winning streak that includes a victory over Boston and two straight over Cleveland. The Hawks are still buzzing about Saturday's 126-125 overtime win against the Cavs, which saw them overcome a 26-point, fourth-quarter deficit.
Millsap said, "The NBA might not have liked us to do that." He called it the "second best I've seen by the Hawks. The first being the other night."
Millsap referred to a 114-110 win over Cleveland two nights earlier when the Hawks had only 10 available players and played without Millsap, Dennis Schroder, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore and Sefolosha -- all five starters.
Charlotte is headed the other direction.
The Hornets have lost four straight, including an 89-79 decision at Milwaukee on Monday. The Hornets led that game 66-61 going into the final quarter but shot only 5 of 20 from the field in the final 12 minutes. The result was the team's second-lowest point total of the season, barely better than the 77 they scored against the Pacers on March 15.
"I thought for three quarters we did well," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "We got really disorganized with our second unit in the fourth."
Charlotte was without leading scorer Kemba Walker (hyperextended left knee) and guard Marco Belinelli (finger) on Monday. The Hornets will make a determination of their status for the final game of the season against the Hawks.
Brian Roberts started in place of Walker and had seven points, two rebounds and one assist in 27 minutes.
"He's an experienced player, he keeps us organized and he's very skilled," Clifford said. "I thought he did a good job when he was out there."