Atlanta Hawks First to 50 Wins, Rout Sacramento Kings
The Atlanta Hawks became the first NBA team to 50 wins with a 130-105 rout of the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. Over the weekend, Atlanta rested Kyle Korver hoping that would help him break out of his shooting funk. The Hawks coaches could not have been more right.
Korver and teammate DeMarre Carroll both scored 20 points helping Atlanta become the first team in the NBA to reach 50 wins on the season, albeit Golden State followed suit just hours later on the west coast.
Korver on the night hit 6 of his 8 shots from beyond the 3-point arc and Atlanta set a franchise record hitting 20 of their 36 shots from behind the line, which broke the previous mark of 19 that was set in December of 1996.
Resting Korver along with two other starters, the Hawks were beaten over the weekend by the lowly Philadelphia 76ers that snapped the Hawks winning streak of five games.
Korver did not even travel to Philadelphia after shooting 17 for his last 54 from 3-point range since returning from the All-Star break. Korver said he did not touch a basketball for two days as he needed to get his head right.
All five starters for Atlanta scored in double figures on Monday, while Dennis Schroder added 12 points off the bench. Atlanta hit 60% of its shots making 53 of 88 overall.
Atlanta led by 22 at half time and finished the game with 42 assists, which in the best this season in the league and the most by Atlanta since 1993. Jeff Teague has 13 assists on the night along with scoring 18 points.
The 130 points for Atlanta was its highest of the season, eclipsing 127 the Hawks scored over Cleveland in December.
This is the first time since 2010 that Atlanta has had 50 wins. Atlanta recorded win No. 50 in only 63 games, which is the quickest in franchise history.
With the win, Atlanta moved to 12-1 against Western Conference opponents at home. The Hawks will now go on a road trip of six games. Pero Antc did not play, missing his second consecutive game with a left ankle sprain. Jarell Eddie did not dress for the game. This was the 18th time this season that all five starters scored double figures.
This is the 12th time the franchise has had a 50-win season and the 10th since leaving St. Louis for Atlanta in 1968.
The Hawks have an 11-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers and are just percentage points behind the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the NBA.
