Magic, Hawks bring lengthy win streaks into pivotal clash
Two of the NBA's hottest teams will collide Monday when the Orlando Magic visit the Atlanta Hawks in a matchup with heavy Eastern Conference playoff ramifications.
The Hawks have won nine straight, the league's longest active winning streak and the franchise's longest since 2014-15, and are ninth in the Eastern Conference.
The Magic are on a seven-game run and are No. 5 in the East. Atlanta's recent hot streak has enabled the Hawks to pull within 2 1/2 games of Orlando with 15 games remaining.
"I think we've been defending at a really high level," Atlanta's CJ McCollum said. "I think that's the biggest thing. We're really good offensively. We have a lot of talent, a lot of shooting. We have a lot of speed. We have a good balance, but I think defensively we've been locked in."
The Hawks have limited opponents to fewer than 100 points in eight games this season, including four during the current streak.
Atlanta is coming off a 122-98 home win over Milwaukee on Saturday. Since the All-Star break, the Hawks lead the NBA in net rating (12.8), defensive rating (104.6) and defensive rebound percentage (76.3%).
Jalen Johnson earned his 12th triple-double against the Bucks with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. He's averaging 23 points, 10.4 rebounds and eight assists this season. Onyeka Okongwu is averaging 7.8 rebounds and Dyson Daniels is averaging 6.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
"There's no one player that's crashing," Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said. "It's multiple guys crashing. There's no one player who's rebounding. It's multiple guys being physical and getting bodies on people. Onyeka maybe as much as anybody, he gives up a lot. JJ should take him to dinner because he's keeping his guy on the glass."
Orlando is coming off Saturday's 121-117 road win over Miami. It gave the Magic a 5-0 sweep over their Floridian rival this season.
"I was extremely proud of these guys for staying with it because we didn't execute down the stretch," Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. "The resiliency. That's a mindset piece for our guys. Understanding that we've been in this situation before, so now what do we need to do? That was the mentality of our guys from this morning until the end of the game."
Paolo Banchero, who scored 27 in the win over Miami, has been a persistent problem for Atlanta. In 12 career games against the Hawks, Banchero is averaging 24.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Banchero has led (or tied) for the team's scoring lead in 25 games and in rebounding 27 times.
The Magic played without Franz Wagner (high left ankle sprain), Jonathan Isaac (left knee soreness), Anthony Black (abdomen) and Jett Howard (illness). Only Howard could be available vs. the Hawks. Atlanta's Jonathan Kuminga missed the last game with a left knee bone bruise and is considered day-to-day.
Atlanta has won the first two meetings this season -- 111-107 in Orlando on Oct. 24 and 127-112 on Nov. 4 in Atlanta. They play for the final time in Orlando on April 1.