The Atlanta Hawks will try to build on the momentum from Monday’s dramatic come-from-behind win and improve their playoff standing when they host the slumping Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Atlanta overcame a 30-point deficit to shock the league-leading Boston Celtics 120-118 on Monday. The victory put the 10th-place Hawks (32-39) within 1 1/2 games of No. 9 seed Chicago and 5 1/2 games ahead of No. 11 Brooklyn in the race for the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Portland (19-53) dropped its seventh straight Monday, a 110-92 loss to Houston. The Blazers, who have the second-worst record in the Western Conference, are only 4-14 since the All-Star break and are mathematically eliminated from the postseason. This will be Portland’s second leg of a seven-game road trip.
This is the second meeting between Atlanta and Portland. The Trail Blazers won the first contest 106-102 in Portland on March 13 — the last game they won. The Hawks have won the last four meetings in Atlanta.
Both teams are playing short-handed. The Hawks are without Trae Young (finger surgery), Saddiq Bey (left ACL), Jalen Johnson (right ankle) and reserve Onyeka Okongwu (toe sprain). The Blazers were missing Deandre Ayton (left elbow), Anfernee Simons (left knee), Malcolm Brogdon (right elbow) and Jerami Grant (right hamstring).
Young was re-examined Monday and there is still no timetable for his return. He tore a ligament in his left pinkie finger on Feb. 23.
The Hawks were able to mount a comeback thanks to unlikely heroes Vit Krejci, who moved into Bey’s place in the starting lineup, and Wesley Matthews, who came off the bench to play 17 minutes. Krejci made four 3-pointers and matched his career high with 16 points. Matthews came up big on defense.
Portland hung tough against a Houston team battling to make the playoffs. The Blazers led 51-47 at halftime but scored only 41 points in the second half.
Rookie guard Scoot Henderson, who grew up in the Atlanta suburbs, said Portland needs to play hard to have a chance.
