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Hawks-76ers Preview

Jan 6, 2016 - 9:36 PM A matchup with the lowly Philadelphia 76ers would have provided the Atlanta Hawks with a perfect opportunity to break out of a funk two weeks ago.

That certainly isn't the case since Ish Smith joined the 76ers.

After not losing three straight until late March last season, the Hawks hope to avoid their third such streak in two months Thursday night when they visit Philadelphia.

Atlanta (21-15) only dropped three in a row twice en route to the Eastern Conference's top seed in 2014-15. The Hawks showed signs of a potential return to the top with a six-game winning streak Dec. 16-26, but they've since taken a step back by losing three of four.

"It's frustrating because I feel like we are playing hard," center Al Horford said. "We're doing some good things out there but we keep having mental lapses as a group, forgetting assignments, little things."

They now look to regroup after getting swept in a home-and-home series against New York, including a 107-101 defeat in Atlanta on Tuesday. The Hawks fell behind by 16 points in the third quarter and got within two with 40 seconds left but couldn't complete the comeback.

"I credit our guys for fighting and competing," coach Mike Budenholzer said. "But we have to be better for more of the 48 minutes.''

Dennis Schroder contributed seven points and eight assists in his return to the sixth man role after sitting out the previous two games despite having no announced injury.

The man Schroder backs up, point guard Jeff Teague, had no assists for the first time since Jan. 14, 2014. Teague has 15 assists and 13 turnovers in the last four games as the Hawks have averaged 101.5 points on 43.0 percent shooting, compared to 111.5 points and 51.2 percent during the win streak.

That run began Dec. 16 against league-worst Philadelphia (4-33), with Millsap and Teague combining for 39 points as Atlanta shot a season-high 61.5 percent in a 127-106 home win.

At that time, the 76ers were in the midst of a 12-game losing streak and a 1-30 start. But on Dec. 24, they acquired Smith from New Orleans for two second-round draft picks.

Smith made an immediate impact, averaging 18.0 points and 8.3 assists in his first three games as Philadelphia won two of them. The journeyman point guard then came up big with 21 and 11 on Monday when the team improved to 3-3 since his arrival with a 109-99 home win over Minnesota.

The 76ers have averaged 100.7 points and 24.2 assists in six games with Smith after previously scoring a league-low 91.4 per game with 18.8 assists.

''We're constantly trying to get better," Smith said. "Let's move on to (the Hawks).''

Jahlil Okafor scored 10 on Monday in his return to the starting lineup but played just 20:42. That was near his average in the previous three games coming off the bench after missing a pair with a knee injury.

Okafor had 19 points in the first meeting with Atlanta while Isaiah Canaan had 24 with six 3-pointers.

The Hawks have won eight of the past nine meetings, though the only defeat was 92-84 on March 7 in the most recent meeting in Philadelphia. Nerlens Noel, who had a career-high 17 rebounds in that contest, has averaged 15.0 points and 9.2 boards in his last six games.

Elton Brand, who played for the Hawks the past two seasons, could make his season debut after signing with the 76ers on Monday. He also played with Philadelphia from 2008-12.