Surging Hawks look to take advantage of short-handed Grizzlies
The streaking Atlanta Hawks will try to enhance their push for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference when they host the struggling Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
Atlanta (39-32) has won 12 of its last 13 games and won its 10th straight home game Saturday by defeating the Golden State Warriors 126-110. The Hawks moved into the No. 6 spot in the East, which would allow them to avoid the play-in tournament.
During Atlanta's 10-game home winning streak -- its longest since 2021 -- the team is averaging 122.4 points, 50 rebounds, 30 assists and 10.2 steals while winning by an average of 17.9 points. It is the first time in franchise history the team has tallied at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals over a 10-game span at home, and the Hawks are the first team to do so at home since the Chicago Bulls in 1997, according to Stathead.
"We did a good job of staying focused" against Golden State, Atlanta guard CJ McCollum said. "We have to continue to stack our days and take care of business on Monday and keep winning."
Atlanta beat the Warriors despite being without leading scorer Jalen Johnson, who sat out the game with a sore left shoulder. He is listed as questionable for Monday's game.
In Johnson's absence, the Hawks leaned on guard Dyson Daniels, who matched his career high with 28 points, and forward Mouhamed Gueye, who started in place of Johnson and produced his fifth career double-double with 16 points (on 6-for-6 shooting), 10 rebounds and three blocks.
"Dyson came in and started off great, and Mo came in and was huge," McCollum said. "He hit some big shots for us, protected the rim, rebounded and we did enough to get a win."
Memphis (24-46) has lost 10 of its last 11 games after falling 124-101 to host Charlotte on Saturday. The Grizzlies, who have lost six straight on the road, are not in playoff contention in the Western Conference.
"It was a tough back-to-back for us coming off a game against Boston, then to travel," Memphis coach Tuomas Iisalo said. "I thought we gave a good fight, but you can see why Charlotte has been very successful, especially after the new year."
Memphis made 16 3-pointers Saturday and has made 10-plus in a franchise record 26 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 28.
But the Grizzlies have been unable to stay healthy. Memphis has used 35 different starting lineups this season, the fourth most in the NBA. The team has used an NBA-most 24 different starters and 29 different players overall. Sixteen different players have led the team in scoring.
The Grizzlies' leading active scorer is Ty Jerome at 19.9 points, but he has played only 14 games because of a calf strain suffered in the preseason. He remains on a minutes restriction and did not play Saturday.
The Grizzlies had 10 players on the injury report Saturday, including standouts Zach Edey (ankle surgery recover), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right finger) and Ja Morant (UCL sprain).
Despite the poor record, Memphis has been a tough opponent for Atlanta. The Hawks prevailed 124-122 on Jan. 21 but have lost the last three meetings against the Grizzlies in Atlanta.