Pelicans put end to Hawks’ streak

PELICANS 115, HAWKS 100

NEW ORLEANS — Paul Millsap and his Atlanta teammates didn’t sound terribly concerned about the end of the Hawks’ franchise-record 19-game winning streak.

After all, the Hawks’ 115-100 loss to surging New Orleans on Monday night — in a game marked by Anthony Davis’ ferocious play — was only Atlanta’s third defeat in 36 games.

“We’ve got a lot of season left,” Millsap said when asked to put the recent winning streak in perspective. “Nineteen games, that’s good. We lost one — 19-1 now. So it’s just regrouping. … We can’t let one loss turn into two losses.”

Davis, returning from a left groin strain that sidelined him for one game, had 29 points and 13 rebounds to help the Pelicans win for the sixth time in seven games. New Orleans’ recent run of good form has included victories over other contending squads, such as Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers, and has pulled the Pelicans (26-22) within a game of Phoenix (28-22) for eighth place in the West.

“We just need to continue to do what we’ve been doing,” Davis said. “The past couple games, we’ve been rebounding, defending, sharing the ball. We don’t care who scores. That’s what we have to do.”

That sounds a lot like the recipe Atlanta has been using to pile up an Eastern Conference-leading 40 victories.

“They had us on our heels from the very beginning,” Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They deserve a lot of credit for us not starting well.

“Give our guys a lot of credit for a lot of good work over the last month. Tonight wasn’t our night. I am very proud of them. We’ll get back to work.”

Jeff Teague scored 21 points for Atlanta, but the Hawks fell behind by double digits in the first quarter and trailed the rest of the way, getting within single digits for only a few brief stints.

Eric Gordon scored 20 points for New Orleans, while Tyreke Evans had 15 points and tied a season high with 12 assists for the fourth time in five games.

Millsap had 15 points and Kyle Korver 12 for the Hawks, who made only seven of 22 three-point attempts.