National Basketball Association
Atlanta 104, Portland 98
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, Portland, Oregon
Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #50 Gediminas Petraitis, #60 James Williams
Attendance: 18783

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Paul Millsap was there when the Atlanta Hawks needed him most Wednesday night at the Moda Center.

The forward scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, and he finished with nine rebounds as Atlanta rallied for a 104-98 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Over the final 12 minutes, Millsap was 4-for-4 from the field -- including 2-for-2 from 3-point range -- and grabbed four rebounds as the Hawks overcame a five-point deficit with eight minutes to play. Millsap, who entered the game shooting 28.9 percent on 3-point attempts, went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc Wednesday.

"That's impressive," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He stuck with his game and just kept playing. He's very efficient, very good."

Said Portland coach Terry Stotts: "I don't think we expected him to go 3-for-3 (on 3-pointers). That certainly hurt."

Forward Kent Bazemore also scored 23 points and center Al Horford added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks, who won their third straight game.

Guard CJ McCollum scored 28 points and guard Damian Lillard added 18 for the Trail Blazers (19-26).

"Down the stretch, (the Hawks) made plays," said McCollum, who made 12 of 23 shots from the field. "They had offensive rebounds, they scored in transition and they showed why they're a pretty good team."

Atlanta (26-17) was 10-for-24 from 3-point range, while Portland was only 9-for-31 from beyond the arc.

"We wanted to take away (the Blazers') threes," Budenholzer said. "We especially wanted to put a lot of pressure on (McCollum and Lillard) and try to make it difficult for them -- not give them any clean looks. For the majority of the night, our bigs' pick-and-roll defense was very good."

Millsap scored 13 points to guide Atlanta to a 48-43 halftime advantage. McCollum had 15 first-half points for the Blazers.

The Hawks hiked the bulge to 66-56 midway through the third quarter, then settled for a 74-72 lead heading into the final period.

Lillard's four-point play touched off a 9-0 run that gave Portland an 84-79 lead. Atlanta, with back-to-back 3-pointers by Bazemore and guard Kyle Korver, answered with an 8-0 spurt to go back in front 87-84.

Horford scored on a 3-pointer and a short jumper to give the Hawks a 98-92 advantage with 1:53 to play.

McCollum scored on a drive to cut the margin to 98-94 with 1:42 left. Horford answered with a bank shot to make it 100-94 with 1:22 to go. McCollum's leaner cut the lead to 100-96 with 47 seconds remaining.

Neither team scored again until Bazemore made a pair of foul shots with 13.4 ticks left. Portland forward Meyers Leonard scored on a put-back two seconds later, but Bazemore sealed it with two more at the line with 8.3 seconds on the clock.

"When we needed stops, we couldn't get stops," Lillard said. "I was proud of the way we competed. We gave ourselves a chance down the stretch, but it just wasn't good enough."

Portland made five of their first seven shots from the field en route to an 11-4 lead. The Blazers missed their last nine shots of the first quarter, and Atlanta closed with a 25-7 run to carry a 29-18 advantage into the second quarter.

Atlanta extended the lead to 41-29 before McCollum led a 13-2 surge that got the Blazers within 43-42 late in the quarter. The Hawks took a five-point edge into intermission.

NOTES: The Hawks beat the Blazers 106-97 on Dec. 21 in Atlanta, but Portland was without the services of G Damian Lillard and G CJ McCollum. "I was hoping Terry would sit them out again tonight," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer quipped before the game. ... Lillard's rap video based on racial harmony, "Bigger Than Us," debuted during TNT's Martin Luther King Day coverage. "I was disappointed that TNT showed only an abbreviated version, but I was proud of the message that was sent," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. ... The Blazers began a seven-game homestand Wednesday night that covers 16 days. They won't play again on the road until a Feb. 6 visit to Houston. ... Portland plays host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. ... Atlanta plays the Kings in Sacramento on Thursday.
Top Game Performances
 
Atlanta   Portland
Kent Bazemore 23 Scoring C.J. McCollum 28
Jeff Teague 6 Assists Damian Lillard 6
Paul Millsap 9 Rebounds Meyers Leonard 10
Paul Millsap 6 Free Throws Made Ed Davis 2
Paul Millsap 2 Steals C.J. McCollum 2
Tim Hardaway Jr. 1 Blocks Al-Farouq Aminu 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Atlanta 104 44.8 10-24 16-23 25 43 3 7 13
Portland 98 43.6 9-31 7-11 23 50 4 5 13
Upcoming Games
  • Portland will play their next game at home against L.A. Lakers. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .423 after a loss.
  • Atlanta will play their next game on the road against Sacramento. The Hawks have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .611 after a loss.