Al Horford’s 30 points lead Hawks past Rockets, 121-115

Al Horford had a monster game for the Atlanta Hawks, leading his team to a major comeback victory over the Houston Rockets Tuesday night, 121-115.

Al Horford was one of two Atlanta Hawks that had double-doubles tonight. Atlanta needed four its starters to score over 20 points on Tuesday night versus the Houston Rockets to win, but the Hawks did come out on top by defeating the Rockets, 121-115.

The Atlanta Hawks trailed the Houston Rockets by as much as 19 points on Tuesday night at the Toyota Center. Atlanta shot the ball well in the first half, but faced a 15-point deficit at half on the road against Houston.

Though Houston had 71 first half points, the Atlanta Hawks were able to outscore the Rockets by 21 points in the second half to secure the team’s 21st victory of 2015-16. Al Horford was sensational in the Hawks’ improbable comeback. He had 30 points on 11-15 shooting, including a surreal 5-7 from three-point range and 14 rebounds in his double-double.

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Paul Millsap had another double-double for the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. He had 22 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists. Millsap continues to play at an All-NBA level this season and is certainly one of the best power forwards in the game today.

Kent Bazemore continues to shine in his new role as starting small forward. He has become an unbelievable shooter for the Atlanta Hawks in his second season with the team. Bazemore had 26 points on 7-13 shooting, sinking five of his nine three-point attempts and all but one of his eight free throws. He had four dimes, three boards, and two steals, too.

Jeff Teague led the charge for the comeback at the point since Dennis Schroder did not play against Houston. Teague had 22 points on 8-18 shooting. He also had eight assists, three steals, and two rebounds.

Those four starters had 100 of the Atlanta Hawks’ 121 points on Tuesday night. The bench wasn’t much of a factor in scoring (19 points), but Walter Tavares played some big minutes in the second quarter. The rookie big man from Cape Verde had six points, six rebounds, and a steal in 10 minutes and 15 seconds of action. Kyle Korver had a miserable night shooting the basketball, as he was 0-11 from the field and 0-10 from three. His two points came at the free throw line.

The Atlanta Hawks will have the next four days off before hosting the New York Knicks on Sunday at 3:30 PM ET. Atlanta is the first team in the Eastern Conference to 21 wins and is only a game and a half back of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference for the top seed.

Next: Thabo Sefolosha's improved shooting the Hawks' gain

Atlanta’s clutch comeback victory over the Rockets tonight, anchored by Al Horford and Paul Millsap’s double-doubles, may stand as a win that catapults this team into being Cleveland’s best challenger in the East. Indiana and Toronto are great and Chicago still has a great roster, but another Eastern Conference Finals date with Cleveland for the Atlanta Hawks seems alright with me. Let’s Go Hawks!