Atlanta seeks nine consecutive wins, fueled by stellar defense and key offensive performers, aiming to solidify their playoff position against a struggling Bucks squad.
The last time the Atlanta Hawks won eight straight NBA games? March of 2021, and if you remember correctly, they advanced to the Eastern Conference finals that season. The Hawks have won eight straight games dating back to Feb. 22, and will be going for nine in a row with an early tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday afternoon.
Atlanta pushed its winning streak to eight games on Thursday night with a 108-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets. In the recent stretch, the Hawks have defeated Brooklyn twice, the Wizards twice, Mavericks, 76ers, Bucks, and Trail Blazers.
Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have been leading the charge offensively for the Hawks over the past three weeks, but a huge catalyst for the team;'s success has been numerous defensive efforts to hold their opponent to under 100 points.
On Saturday afternoon, Atlanta will be without Jonathan Kuminga, who has already been ruled out due to left knee injury management. At this point, NBA teams aren't even hiding load management anymore. Kuminga returned to the lineup in the win over Brooklyn on Thursday, but will now miss another game with this left knee issue.
However, since Kuminga is the only name on the injury report, the Hawks will welcome back Dyson Daniels to the starting lineup. Hawks starters have been playing exceptional team basketball over the eight game winning streak, and have all seen boosts in their scoring because of it.
Milwaukee continues to slip in the Eastern Conference, so at State Farm Arena, the Hawks have a good chance to push their streak to nine consecutive victories. And then Atlanta will close out the five-game home stand with the Orlando Magic on Monday.