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The Atlanta Hawks kicked off a five-game road trip Tuesday night with a 109-105 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors. There is no such thing as a moral victory in the NBA, but the Hawks can take several positives into their next game on Friday. They recovered from a 14-point deficit on the road to force overtime but couldn't overcome an off-balance desperation three-pointer by Draymond Green in overtime.
It certainly wasn't the Warriors' best effort who were playing without a couple of key players but when a team is undefeated at home this season and has won 43 straight regular season games dating back to last, you can take some solace that you pushed them to the limit in overtime.
For Atlanta, the trip doesn't get any easier as they face a struggling Lakers team on Friday and then do the Staples Center sleepover to face the Clippers on Saturday. The Hawks are just 14-16 on the road this season and have losses at Brooklyn and Minnesota so they shouldn't be taking that game against a 12-win Lakers squad likely.
The Hawks seem to have turned a corner a bit since dropping three straight home games after the break. Bouncing Back from Tuesday's loss and finishing this road trip on a good note would go a long way in validating that.
Dennis Schröder shows again that he is ready to lead
Dennis Schröder finished with 17 points and nine assists and was on the court for the entire fourth quarter and overtime against the Warriors. He is averaging 15.2 points and 6.2 assists while shooting 52 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range since the All-Star break.
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Schröder's net rating of 10.0 is the second best mark on the team and he has been a fixture in Atlanta's most productive five-man lineups since the start of the season. Jeff Teague had a great February and has quietly put together a solid season statistically but Schröder is showing signs that he is this team's answer at the point guard position long term and that should give the Hawks something to think about this summer.