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Hawks extend winning streak to 18 in thriller against Blazers

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

There are the Atlanta Hawks, and there is everything else.

The Hawks somehow extended their franchise-best and NBA season-best winning streak to 18 games on Friday, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in a thrilling 105-99 battle. That also pushes Atlanta past their 2013-14 win total. It's Jan. 30, by the way.

The streak looked tenuous at several points. Playing without DeMarre Carroll, the Hawks lost Thabo Sefolosha in the first quarter, rendering their wing rotation thin. No matter, as Kent Bazemore was simply the next man up, playing 40 minutes in relief and hanging tough against the Blazers' bevy of shooting wings.

The Blazers leveraged that advantage for most of the early part of the game, taking a 74-69 lead into the game's final frame. As they're wont to do, the Hawks fought back, opening the fourth on a 9-2 run to take a lead into the game's home stretch.

They appeared to have things secured late, but Al Horford threw an ill-advised outlet pass with 17 seconds left, giving Portland late life. But Wesley Matthews missed the ensuing corner three and Kyle Korver iced the game with a pair of free throws, proving once and for all that there is no stopping this team.

So much for the Blazers solving the Hawks' social media issue, where their winning streak is now too long for their Twitter handle.

The Hawks surviving wasn't for a lack of effort from LaMarcus Aldridge, who had his second consecutive monster game, scoring 37 points with 11 rebounds in the loss. Outside of Aldridge, the Blazers struggled to solve the Hawks' No. 5-ranked defense, shooting just 38.1 percent.

The Hawks spread the offense around, as they tend to do, with six players scoring in double-figures for a balanced attack. It was Jeff Teague bringing the most sizzle with his 13 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and handful of nasty moves.

All-Star Jeff Teague
Teague with a FILTHY Shamgod

In a slowly growing trend, the crowd at Phillips Arena was not only a sell-out, but an insane one at that.

PHILIPS IS ALIIIIVVVVEEEE

Can anyone tame the Hawks at this point? They'll face several tests in the coming days, with the New Orleans Pelicans, Washington Wizards, Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies all on the docket in the next nine days.

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