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Bobcats-Hawks Preview

Jan 21, 2010 - 5:44 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Charlotte (21-19) at Atlanta (27-14), 7:30 p.m. EDT

The Charlotte Bobcats may be the hottest team in the league, but now they've got to prove themselves on the road in a matchup against the Southeast Division leaders.

The Bobcats will try to win seven straight for the first time in franchise history when they meet the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Charlotte (21-19), seeking its first playoff berth in its six seasons, is on its longest win streak since a six-game run Feb. 25-March 7. The Bobcats completed a perfect six-game homestand with Wednesday's 104-65 rout of Miami, improving to 9-1 in 2010.

"I can't explain this," coach Larry Brown said. "Guys are playing at a high level."

Stephen Jackson scored 24 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 and 10 rebounds as the Bobcats moved ahead of the Heat for third place in the Southeast. Jackson averaged 23.0 points on the homestand.

"I think everyone is buying into the system," Wallace said. "We know we don't have any great one player on this team. We know we don't have any great one defensive stopper. Everything is a team concept."

The Bobcats have shown they will be a factor in the division heading into this stretch against the top two teams. They host Orlando on Saturday after they try to improve on their 3-15 road record Friday.

Charlotte has lost its last four visits to Atlanta (27-14).

"We're playing so good at home I wish we could play here for the rest of the season," Jackson said. "But you know you've got to go on the road. It's good to go on the road and see what we can do."

The Hawks are well aware of how the Bobcats are playing, having lost 103-83 at Charlotte on Nov. 6. That game took place before the Bobcats acquired Jackson on Nov. 16 from Golden State.

"They're playing extremely well from a defensive standpoint so we'll be tested without a doubt," coach Mike Woodson said. "We'll see where we stand from a defensive standpoint because they've got three, four guys that can really score the basketball and Jackson coming over from Golden State has really helped their ballclub."

Atlanta is seeking to complete a 4-1 homestand after a 108-97 win over Sacramento on Wednesday. The Hawks, whose last division title came in 1993-94, have moved one-half game ahead of the Magic for the Southeast lead and trail Boston by one-half game for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Jamal Crawford came off the bench for a team-high 20 points to complement four starters in double figures against the Kings.

"I think our bench is really good, one of the best in the league," Crawford said. "They've won a lot of games, and they take pressure off the starters. We feed off each other. We have good rhythm."

The Hawks rebounded from Monday's 94-91 loss to Oklahoma City.

"We let one get away with Oklahoma coming in here and playing as well as they did and we were able to bounce back tonight," Woodson said. "It was a total team effort tonight, I thought."