The Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic faced each other once again in a battle of two Southeast division rivals. The Hawks looked extremely sluggish in the first half. Atlanta squandered an eight-point lead that resulted in a tie at 40 at halftime. The Magic built a 12-point lead in the third quarter as a result of the Hawks' poor three-point shooting. Atlanta was 1-of-13 at that point from three.
The Hawks took their first lead since the first half at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, and Al Horford all hit clutch jumpers that helped Atlanta build their lead. Paul Millsap went 3-of-5 from the three-point line and led the way for the Hawks with 23 points.
The Magic received excellent play from Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier. Oladipo put up 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and Fournier had 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Fournier leads the league in consecutive games with a three pointer made, as he got his 30th straight tonight. The Magic continue to be without their starting big man Nikola Vucevic, who missed his fifth-straight game.
The Atlanta Hawks continue dominance in the East and improve to 16-6. They will face the Magic once again in their next game in Orlando on December 13th.
Orlando will be fueled by their inability to close the Hawks out and their next matchup should definitely be another close one. These Southeast division rivals have always been known for their games to come down the wire and their next game in Orlando should display another grind it out battle.