Damian Lillard remained hot as he led the Portland Trail Blazers to a narrow 129-125 win over the shorthanded Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. The Hawks applied pressure to the Blazers for all 48 minutes of regulation behind 40 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Dejounte Murray. Six Hawks scored in double figures to compensate for the absence of All-NBA point guard Trae Young, as they were an elusive fly that the Blazers had to expend every ounce of strength to swat.
Despite gaudy efficiency stats, Portland could not pull away from Atlanta until the fat lady sang.