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The Atlanta Hawks look for their second straight win and to keep the pressure on the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA's Eastern Conference playoff race when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks earned their 41st win of the season on Saturday ensuring that they will finish with at least a .500 record. One more victory will give the Hawks a winning season for the fifth consecutive season. Atlanta has already clinched a spot in the playoffs but is now trying to improve its position and get healthy over the last eight remaining games.
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Atlanta is currently battling a number of injuries and has been without its starting center Al Horford for the last two games because of a stomach illness. Horford's status for Monday night's game is unknown at this point. John Jenkins suffered a concussion in Friday night's loss in Boston. There is no timetable currently for his return. Atlanta also learned on Saturday that reserve center Zaza Pachulia would have season ending surgery and will be lost for the season due to an Achilles injury.
Cleveland has dealt with a season full of injuries too most notably to point guard Kyrie Irving who returned to the lineup on Sunday. He however is not expected to play against the Hawks on Monday as they bring him along slowly because of a shoulder injury. Rookie Dion Waiters has missed the last four games with a knee injury while Anderson Varejao is out for the season with a knee injury of his own.
Atlanta has dropped two of the three meetings between the two teams this season and will be looking to salvage a split in the series. The Hawks will enter play on Monday in sixth place in the Eastern Conference but just percentage points behind the Chicago Bulls who are fifth. Both Atlanta and Chicago trail Brooklyn by 1.5 games for fourth place in the conference.
Game Date/Time: Monday, April 1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: SportSouth
Radio: 680 The Fan, 93.7 FM
Online Streaming: NBA League Pass Broadband