Warriors Look To Prolong Win Streak, Visit Hawks
Stephen Curry and David Lee came up big for the Warriors against Miami. Can they now lead the team to an eighth straight victory in Atlanta Friday?
After an inspired victory over the defending NBA champions on Thursday night, the Golden State Warriors will look for an eighth straight win Friday as the team faces the Atlanta Hawks on the road.
Tip-off at Phillips Arena in Downtown Atlanta is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Warriors (21-13, 10-9 road) moved to 3-0 on their current seven-game road trip Thursday, defeating the Miami Heat in South Florida.
The 123-114 victory saw big performances from Stephen Curry and David Lee. Curry led all scorers with 36 points on 13 of 22 shooting, including 8 of 15 from beyond the arc. He added 12 assists and four steals for good measure. Lee contributed 32 points on 13 of 17 shooting and pulled down 14 rebounds.
The Warriors as a whole shot 56.1 percent and knocked down 15 of 29 three-pointers, which proved more than enough to take down the Heat.
The win marked the seventh straight and eighth in nine games for Mark Jackson’s side, which has climbed into sixth-place in the Western Conference standings and can move to the top of the Pacific Division with a win and a Los Angeles Clippers loss on Friday.
Atlanta (18-14, 12-4 home) will be looking to extend a winning streak of its own.
The Hawks have won five straight at Phillips Arena, a streak that dates back to a December 10 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mike Budenholzer’s side, which has won eight of its last nine games at home, has the third best home record in the Eastern Conference, behind only the Heat (14-3) and NBA-best Indiana Pacers (15-1).
Hawks center Al Horford is done for the season having suffered a torn pectoral muscle. The Hawks had hoped that a playoff return might be on the cards but post-surgery musings indicate that such a return won’t happen. That leaves the Hawks’ front office with much to ponder.
Atlanta has gone 2-1 without Horford, including a 92-91 road win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
The Hawks came from behind in that one to squeeze a victory. Paul Millsapp led the team with 34 points and 15 rebounds, both season-highs, while Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak of games with at least one made three-point field goal to 101 games.
Friday’s game against the Warriors will represent the Hawks’ first real challenge without Horford, after the team picked up wins against the Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats and a loss to the Orlando Magic, all teams with records below .500.
Golden State Warriors vs. Atlanta Hawks odds for 01/03/2014
Golden State enters the game as a narrow road favorite.
The Warriors have picked up three straight wins against the Hawks, including two at Phillips Arena. Atlanta’s last win over Golden State came on February 25, 2011, before Mark Jackson took over the reins in Oakland.
The two sides have historically been evenly matched, compiling an all-time head-to-head record of 141-138 in favor of Atlanta.
The spread for Friday’s game opened at 2 but has already climbed to 3.5 with some online sportsbooks.
Over the season, Atlanta (18-14-0 ATS) has performed better against the spread than Golden State (16-16-2 ATS) but the Warriors have covered in five of their last seven games, while the Hawks have failed to cover the spread in three of their last four.
Golden State is 6-2-0 ATS in its last eight games against the Hawks and 4-2-0 ATS in its last six visits to Phillips Arena.
The over/under opened at 206.5.
Atlanta (20-11-1) has favored the over this season while Golden State (15-19-0) has favored the under.
The total went under in Atlanta’s win over Boston on Tuesday, snapping a nine-game streak of Hawks’ games that saw the total go over. Golden State has flip-flopped between the over and under in its last six games.
The total has gone under in four of the last five meetings between the teams but has gone over in 15 of 19 games played between the sides in Atlanta.
Golden State will host Atlanta at Oracle Arena in Oakland on March 7.
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