Portland Trail Blazers vs Atlanta Hawks Match Player Stats On Dec 30, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 30, 2017

ATLANTA -- Dennis Schroder's game-high 22 points flipped the fortunes of the Atlanta Hawks, helping them to a 104-89 victory Saturday night over the Portland Trail Blazers at Philips Arena.

It was the third win in four games for Atlanta (10-26), which bounced back from Friday's loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Marco Belinelli scored 14 points off the bench to help the Hawks win their third straight home game. Ersan Ilyasova and Tyler Cavanaugh added 13 points apiece while Taurean Prince scored 12 by draining 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Portland (18-17) was led by Shabazz Napier's 21 points while CJ McCollum added 18.

Schroeder caught fire in the third quarter with seven straight points -- the last three coming on a 3-pointer from the elbow -- to turn a 66-60 deficit into a 67-66 Atlanta lead at the 3:47 mark. It was the Hawks' first lead since 14-12 midway through the first quarter.

Atlanta led 72-69 after three quarters and extended its advantage to as many as 19 in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks jumped out of the blocks fast, shooting 60 percent from the field during the first six minutes. Ersan Illyasova had the early hot hand as he buried a corner 3-pointer on his first shot. Then on back-to-back possessions, he scored on a put-back and nailed a pretty step-back floater to give the Hawks a 14-8 lead.

Portland responded by starting a 9-0 run sparked by a 3-point play from Jusuf Nurkic, followed by Al-Farouq Aminu's coast-to-coast bucket in transition. CJ McCollum capped the mini-run when he blew by two Hawks defenders for a layup high off the glass, giving the Trail Blazers a 19-17 advantage at the 4:03 mark of the first quarter.

Atlanta reclaimed the lead on Tyler Cavanaugh's buzzer-beater jumper, making it 25-23 after one quarter.

The hot shooting continued into the second, but this time it was Portland getting in on the action. The Blazers nailed five of its six first-half 3-pointers in the second quarter with Maurice Harkless making two off the bench.

Shabazz Napier led all first-half scorers with 13 points as Portland took a 52-46 lead into halftime.

NOTES: Atlanta F Dewayne Dedmon was ruled out with a left tibia stress reaction. ... G Dennis Schroder decided he could play in pre-game warmups despite a left quad contusion. ... Atlanta F DeAndre' Bembry, G Josh Magette and F/C Mike Muscala were inactive. ... Atlanta begins a five-game road trip Tuesday in Phoenix. ... Portland G Wade Baldwin, G CJ Wilcox and F Caleb Swanigan were inactive. ... Portland G Damien Lillard was out with a right hamstring injury. ... A technical foul was called on Portland's Shabazz Napier early in the second quarter after he elbowed Atlanta's Isaiah Taylor. ... Portland plays at Chicago on Monday.