The Atlanta Hawks boast an active winning streak for the first time this season and the team will be aiming for a third consecutive victory on Friday evening. However, the Hawks face a stiff test in the form of the Toronto Raptors and the comes on the road in Canada.

Toronto has dropped two straight (yes, this is a bizarro world) to the Mavs and Thunder but, in general, the Raptors have been fantastic this season. It is nothing new that Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and company would produce at a high level in the regular season but, this time around, Toronto is operating with a more pleasurable offensive product and, to this point, they are defending at a high level.

Obviously, the Hawks will not be expected and/or projected to win on the road in Toronto but it is undeniable that Atlanta is playing improved basketball right now. The team received high-end contributions from a number of players on Wednesday, headlined by Ersan Ilyasova, Dennis Schröder and Marco Belinelli, with optimism arriving in the form of encouraging team defense at times in the recent past.

It will be interesting to see if the Hawks can keep the momentum flowing, especially against what is likely to be an angry and inspired Raptors team. This game would not have been circled in terms of intrigue even a few weeks ago but, given the circumstances and a Friday night tip-off, there should be plenty of extra interest on the proceedings from the Air Canada Centre.

Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, December 29, 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Air Canada Centre

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Go, NBA League Pass

Radio: 92.9 The Game (Atlanta)