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Hawks face tough test against Mavs

Feb 25, 2015 - 3:01 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Atlanta Hawks will have their hands full when they host the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday at Philips Arena.

The Hawks haven't been at their best lately, but did record a win over the Milwaukee Bucks the last time out on Sunday in Brew City. Paul Millsap scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the visitors and Al Horford netted 15 points to go with eight boards.

Kyle Korver scored 12 points and Dennis Schroder added 12 and nine assists for Atlanta, which had lost two straight and three of four games. The Hawks shot 40.2 percent from the field and is 4-4 since a 19-game winning streak. They forced 25 turnovers, converting them into 18 points.

Atlanta outscored the Bucks 24-9 over the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter to take its biggest lead of the night at 90-73. The Bucks got no closer than 10 points the remainder of the game.

"This was a game where we had to go in and slug it out a little bit," said Korver. "They made a run on us, had us all sped up ... we really had to come together and play well on both ends of the floor."

Jeff Teague scored 10 points against the Bucks and is questionable Wednesday with an illness. Teague is averaging 16.8 points per game.

The Hawks will also welcome the Orlando Magic to town and have a 25-4 record as the host this season.

Atlanta is fourth in opponents' scoring at 96.8 ppg and will face a Dallas team averaging 105.8 points.

The Mavericks completed a perfect three-game homestand versus the Toronto Raptors with Tuesday's 99-92 victory and were led by Monta Ellis, who scored 20 points. Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and Devin Harris added 14 for the Mavs, winners in nine of their last 12 games.

Dallas battled back-and-forth with the Raptors until the fourth quarter, when it posted a 25-15 scoring advantage.

"We slacked off after that a little bit, but you've got to give them credit ... they started making some shots and we had to dig deep to get this one," Nowitzki said.

The Mavs scored 28 points off 19 Toronto turnovers and improved to 20-5 against the Eastern Conference this season.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is two wins shy of matching Dick Motta (329) for second on the franchise's all-time list. Don Nelson is first with 339 victories.

Carlisle and point guard Rajon Rondo were caught on camera in a heated exchange Tuesday and Rondo sat the final 20-plus minutes.

"Well, it's an emotional game, and we had a difference of opinion," Carlisle said. "There was an exchange, and then in my mind, it was over."

After this quick trip to Atlanta, the Mavs will return home to host Brooklyn and New Orleans. Dallas is 19-11 away from Big D.

Atlanta defeated Dallas, 105-102, on Dec. 22 in Texas, as Schroder scored a career-high 22 points starting in place of Teague. That could happen again with Teague battling an illness.

The Hawks lead the all-time series with Dallas, 35-32. The Mavs, though, have taken nine of the previous 15 encounters in the Peach State.