Atlanta (USA), May 3 (EFE) .- Italian power forward Danilo Gallinari made seven triples and finished with 28 points, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 123-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. the second in a row, in the duel of teams that seek to ensure their pass to the playoffs directly in their respective conferences.
The Hawks snapped the four-game winning streak of the Trail Blazers, who had been victorious on the road.
Atlanta started the day tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference, with the Trail Blazers ranking seventh in the West. Both teams seek to avoid falling as low as the seventh, which would force them to participate in the play-in tournament.
After arriving early Monday from Boston, where they beat the Celtics the night before, the Trail Blazers were forced out of hotel rooms for about half an hour due to a tornado warning in Atlanta.
Serbian guard Bogdan Bogdanovic provided most of Atlanta’s offense during the first two quarters, scoring 23 of his 25 points in the second half. He also made seven triples.
For his part, point guard Trae Young contributed a double-double of 21 points and 11 assists and guard CJ McCollum added 20 points as the second leading scorer for the Trail Blazers, who also had the support of forward Norman Powell, who in the end could playing more than 32 minutes despite pain in the right knee.
Powell came into the game as a doubt to play, but dressed and scored 15 points after playing 39 minutes the night before in Boston.
The Hawks have won six straight at home, one less than their season high, and 14 of 16 at State Farm Arena.
(c) EFE Agency