THE Atlanta Falcons will look to build on the momentum from Monday’s dramatic victory and improve their playoff position when they host the falling matchup. Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday.
Atlanta overcame a 30-point deficit to shock the league-leading Boston Celtics 120-118 on Monday. The win put the 10th-ranked Hawks (32-39) 1 1/2 games behind No. 9 seed Chicago and 5 1/2 games ahead of 11th-place Brooklyn in the NBA tournament race Play-In.
Portland (19-53) lost its seventh straight game Monday, a 110-92 loss to Houston. The Blazers, who have the second-worst record in the Western Conference, are just 4-14 since the All-Star break and are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. This will be the second stop of a seven-game road trip for Portland.
This is the second meeting between Atlanta and Portland. The Trail Blazers won Game 1 106-102 in Portland on March 13 – the last game they won. The Hawks have won the last four meetings in Atlanta.
Both teams are playing shorthanded. The Hawks are without Trae Young (finger surgery), Saddiq Bey (left ACL), Jalen Johnson (right ankle) and reserve Onyeka Okongwu (sprained toe). The Blazers were missing Deandre Ayton (left elbow), Anfernee Simons (left knee), Malcolm Brogdon (right elbow) and Jerami Grant (right hamstring).
The Hawks managed to mount a comeback thanks to unlikely heroes Vit Krejci, who replaced Bey in the starting lineup, and Wesley Matthews, who came off the bench to play 17 minutes. Krejci made four 3-pointers and tied his career high with 16 points. Matthews was very successful on defense.
“We believe in ourselves and we believe we can compete with anyone,” Krejci said. “We never gave up and everyone contributed for us, that’s for sure.”
Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said unselfish play fueled the rally.
“I think we’re learning to play that way. It’s not easy,” he said. “We put in the time, even on the road. Our guys worked on the little things that don’t always translate into the game: running harder, not getting caught in purgatory in transition. But the big one The problem is guys are focused on each other and wondering what I can do for my teammate.”
Portland held its own against a Houston team that was fighting to make the playoffs. The Blazers led 51-47 at halftime but scored just 41 points in the second half.
“I thought we had a really good first half and had some good moments in that third quarter, but the game kind of turned around,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “They picked up their defensive pressure again, and we just didn’t respond well to it. You have to give them credit. They increased it when they needed to, defensively, against a young group.”
Rookie guard Scoot Henderson, who grew up in suburban Atlanta, said Portland had to play hard to have a chance.
“We have to maintain our defensive intensity,” Henderson said. “It’s going to give us a chance every night – defensive intensity, moving the ball and just making the game easier for ourselves and not trying to play one-on-one the whole game because we can’t win like that.”
–Field level media
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