Hawks winning streak snapped with 94-88 loss to Grizzlies

The Atlanta Hawks saw their winning streak come to a close on Sunday with a tough 94-88 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sunday's game felt a bit like Friday's big game against the Golden State Warriors where both teams appeared to be feeling each other out in the early going. The Hawks came out slowly against the Grizzlies defense and trailed 16-7 early. Mike Budenholzer turned to his bench for some energy and Dennis Schröder, Kent Bazemore and Mike Scott delivered as the Hawks successfully cut into the deficit and trailed 20-16 at the end of the quarter.

Atlanta started to find its footing offensively in the second. The Hawks knocked down 9-18 field goal attempts to take a 43-42 lead into halftime. Atlanta's defense held the Grizzlies to just 36 percent shooting in the second while the bench continued to give the team a lift at the offensive end of the floor.

The Hawks built a seven-point lead in the third quarter but again struggled down the stretch in the face of a solid defensive effort by the Grizzlies. Memphis closed the quarter with a 13-3 run and trailed 69-66 heading to the fourth.

The Grizzlies kept the heat on in the fourth and jumped out to an 80-75 lead at just under the nine minute mark. The Hawks came right back with back-to-back three-pointers from Mike Scott and Kent Bazemore to cut the deficit to 82-81.

Atlanta received a scare late in the period after Jeff Teague tied the game up on a drive but crumpled to the ground with an apparent ankle injury. Teague limped to the bench with the score tied 83-83.

Teague checked back in at the 2:48 mark with the score still tied at 86-86 Tony Allen tipped in a Zach Randolph miss to put Memphis in front for good. Jeff Green added a pair of free throws and Mike Conley later scored to put the Grizzlies up 92-86 with 56.2 remaining. Paul Millsap missed a pair of three-point attempts and Marc Gasol closed out the game from the free throw line handing Atlanta a rare loss.

Teague led Atlanta with 22 points and six assists. Bazemore delivered a great all-around performance finishing with 14 points and five rebounds off the bench. Schröder and Scott added 11 each.

The Hawks were fortunate to be in position to win late given the struggles of Millsap and Al Horford. Millsap finished with just four points and was 2-10 from the field. Horford missed his first five shots of the night and finished with six points on 2-11 shooting. He did grab a team-high 12 rebounds.

Conley led the Grizzlies with 21 points and six assists. Marc Gasol added 16 points while Zach Randolph added 11 points and 15 boards.

Atlanta falls to 42-10 on the season and is right back at it on Monday with a trip to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves.