Going inside the Atlanta Hawks' 105-102 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night:
1. Hawks extend one of the most impressive winning streaks in NBA
Picture this: Team X capitalizes on one of the easier early schedules in the league and rattles off one of the longer winning streaks in franchise history. That streak ends on a back-to-back against the sam team, losing on a last-second buzzer-beater (after hitting its own would-be game-winner with a couple seconds left on the clock). The payoff for the streak's conclusion is one of the more difficult five-game stretches around, going against five teams with a .615 win percentage or better. To add to the level of difficulty, Team X's starting point guard misses the majority of those games.
What are the odds that team wins four straight games? Especially if that team is almost unanimously considered a notch below the upper-echelon of NBA teams?
The Atlanta Hawks are in the middle of one of the most impressive runs any team has made this NBA season. They have now won 13 of their past 14 games, including four straight wins over Cleveland, Chicago, Houston and Dallas -- the past three wins without starting point guard Jeff Teague. They are now 20-7 and in sole possession of the Eastern Conference's second seed, just one game back from first-place Toronto.
"It was hard at the end, but honestly I'll take it," Hawks forward Al Horford said. "It's a win, it's on the road against a good team. We're very happy."
The weak early schedule was impossible to ignore, but the Hawks have squashed many doubts over the past week. They are clicking on all cylinders and while other teams may feature better individual talent and better name recognition, there aren't many that have completely bought into their system like Atlanta.
Monday night wasn't perfect, but it was another example of the Hawks jumping out to a fast start, out-executing their opponent at both ends, building a big early lead and holding on. The Mavericks made their run late, but it wasn't enough to overcome what was a 52-38 first-half lead.
"It was probably three and a half (quarters) ... of good basketball," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I think our defense and our activity was good. Offensively, I thought we were in attack mode and aggressive and got a lot of good things. And, you know, we'll learn from the end of the game. It obviously wasn't good, but I think the focus is our activity defensively and then the same activity on the other end put us in a good position."
The Hawks didn't win their 20th game until Jan. 10 last season. They are way ahead of schedule, and taking out high-profile opponents in the meantime.
2. Schroder-Rondo rematch yields similar results
With starting point guard Jeff Teague sitting out with a strained left hamstring for the third straight game, second-year Hawks guard Dennis Schroder made his third start of his NBA career. And after helping to guide the team to wins over Cleveland and Houston, Schroder, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2013 draft, went up against the player he's most often compared to for the second time this season: Rajon Rondo.
Rondo, the newest addition to the Dallas Mavericks rotation after being traded from Boston, where he was a four-time All-Star, was playing in his second game for the Mavs. The first game was a win over a shorthanded San Antonio Spurs club. The Hawks were shorthanded as well, but the results were not as positive.
Schroder was excellent yet again going up against Rondo, pouring in a career-high 22 points to go along with six assists. All of this coming against a revitalized team that many are pegging as Western Conference contenders. The last time Schroder went up against Rondo, he set the second-best scoring mark of his career (15 points) while adding three assists and, often times most importantly for him, just one turnover.
"I was ready," Schroder said of going against Rondo and his country's greatest basketball export, fellow German and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki. "I knew again that I'd get the starting spot, and I was completely ready. ... Every time when I play against Rondo, I try to compare, like compete against him. And yeah, today was a great night."
As for Rondo? Not his best night as he continues to get acclimated to Dallas's system. He scored 13 points and dished out 11 assists.
Game by game, the Schroder pick is looking more and more like a shrewd mid-round investment for Atlanta. He keeps improving and gaining confidence, and finding success going against Rondo will only help in that regard. Perhaps best of all, after a spotty fourth quarter in which he forced some turnovers -- he turned it over five times total in 31 minutes of play -- and committed a costly offensive foul, Schroder cooly knocked down four late points to help hold off a late comeback attempt.
Teague can feel free to take his time getting that hamstring back to 100 percent. The Hawks look like they're in good hands right now.
3. Millsap flirts with triple-double
Hawks forward Paul Millsap finished three assists shy of a triple-double, finishing another quality performance with 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. It wasn't a vintage offensive performance from the big man, but he did his part in an offense that boasted five starters scoring in double figures on Monday night.
On the flip side, it was his efforts on the defensive end that provided the most rave reviews.
"It was great. His energy on defense was excellent and played a lot of minutes. He guarded Dirk to perfection so, man, he's gotta get a lot of rest because we got another tough one tomorrow."
Nowitzki finished 6 of 13 from the floor for 16 points, adding a couple assists and three turnovers. Basically, he was held in check, requiring other member of the Dallas to pick up some of the slack. Millsap didn't get his triple-double, but he did more than enough and now he'll likely be asked to come up with a similar effort against Clippers star Blake Griffin on Tuesday.
67: The Hawks hit just 67 percent of their free throws in the win. It was just the third time this season Atlanta has shot 67 percent or worse from the charity stripe.
11: The Mavericks knocked down 11 3-pointers in the game. It was the just the ninth time that an opponent hit more 3-pointers than the Hawks (7) in a game this season.
"We (knew) that they would try to come back, try to play tougher, but I think we were prepared for it. I think it was a great team win." -- Dennis Schroder on the Mavericks' comeback attempt
