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Hawks welcome Crawford, Blazers to town

Jan 18, 2012 - 3:49 PM (Sports Network) - You have to figure the loss of All-Star big man Al Horford will eventually catch up to the Atlanta Hawks.

So far, however, Atlanta has kept its head above water and will try to finish a four-game homestand in perfect fashion when they host Jamal Crawford and the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at Philips Arena.

Crawford, traditionally one of the NBA's top sixth men, averaged 16.1 points for the Hawks over the previous two seasons before signing with the Blazers as a free agent. The guard, who is making his first trip back to the ATL, is scoring at a lesser clip this season (12.0 ppg) and has been struggling recently, netting just 21 points in his last three games.

Crawford's troubles have coincided with Portland's although the club did snap a three-game skid and improved to 1-2 on a six-game road trip Monday in the Big Easy when LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Blazers handle the New Orleans Hornets, 84-77.

Nicolas Batum added 19 points and six boards for Portland, which will finish its long trek with visits to Toronto and Detroit after tonight. Gerald Wallace tallied 14 points and seven rebounds.

"Sure it was ugly but we needed a win and we'll take it. We know we can play better and we know we'll have to play better, but we're happy with the win," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said.

Veteran Portland center Marcus Camby is likely to miss a third straight game tonight with a sprained left ankle.

In Atlanta's most recent outing on Monday, Josh Smith poured in 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Hawks continued to surge with a 93-84 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

"I think I'm in a different state of mind," Smith said. "I'm playing as hard as I've ever played."

Joe Johnson finished with 27 points and six assists for the Hawks, who have won three in a row and six of seven overall.

Their last three victories, against admittedly inferior competition in Charlotte, Minnesota and the Raptors, have come despite the fact they've played without Horford, who will be out for the next three to four months because of torn pec suffered last week.

Atlanta has won five straight games over the Blazers and Portland's last win in the Peach State came back in January of 2008.