The Toronto Raptors made sure to respond one of the most frequently asked question in this NBA regular-season with a comprehensive 105-80 win at Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
The Hawks All-Star quartet Kyle Korker, Paul Milsap, Jeff Teague and Al Horford has been tipped as capable of leading the Hawks (43-12) to glory this season, not only because they lead the Eastern Conference, but also because they are playing solid and consistent basketball.
However, something does not sound right when the Hawks face the number two team in the East.
In four meetings this season, the Hawks have lost three games against the Canadian franchise.
Remember those days of the 19-game winning streak? They remain alive in Hawks fans mind, but a lot needs to be done at this stage.
To make things even more alarming for Atlanta, who lost back-to-back games for the first time since November, neither Milsap, Korver, Teague or Horford were capable of connecting defensive or offensively against the Raptors.
Korver, the league leading three-pointer, was 2-for-11 from beyond the arc as Atlanta missed a staggering 30 of their 38 three-pointer attempts, particularly because of Toronto’s physical and aggressive defense, which resulted in 15 steals and nine blocked shots.
The Hawks struggled to stop Raptors guard Louis Williams who came off the bench to hit a career-high seven of his ten three-point attempts en route to a game-high 26 points.
Teague, Kover and Milsap finished with 11 points apiece, while the Raptors made the most of Atlanta’s sloppy offence, which resulted in 22 turn-overs.
The Raptors (37-17) improved their winning streak to four games.
As for the question whether the Hawks All-Star quartet can lead the team to glory, Atlanta’s championship credentials should not be judged by this loss, even though they will need to bounce-back in the next few games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks.
After all the Hawks have lost four of seven games following a team-record 19-game winning streak.
