Atlanta Hawks host Southeast rival Hornets Sunday afternoon

The Atlanta Hawks fresh off their win over the Chicago Bulls Friday night will host a Southeast Division rival in the Charlotte Hornets Sunday afternoon.

Now that the Atlanta Hawks have gotten their first post-NBA All-Star break win out of the way with a convincing win over the Chicago Bulls Friday night, 103-88, can the Atlanta Hawks continue their winning ways with the Charlotte Hornets come to town for a 3:30 PM ET tipoff Sunday? Fox Sports Southeast will air the contest between Southeast Division rivals.

Entering play Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Hawks are two games up on the Charlotte Hornets in the loss column. Atlanta is 32-27, in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and two games back of the Miami Heat in the loss column for the Southeast Division lead. Charlotte is 30-27, in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, and four games back of Miami in the Southeast Division race.

As the season is slowly winding down, it seems that both the Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Hornets are likely to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs as two of the three teams to represent the Southeast Division in the NBA Playoffs.

Miami seems like a lock as well, and both the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards seem unlikely to gel long enough to jump over a handful of teams to reach the postseason.

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Atlanta boasts an 18-12 record at Philips Arena this season, which is certainly an advantage in this divisional matchup with the Hornets, as Charlotte is only 11-18 away from their home in Time Warner Cable Arena this year.

However, the Hornets are playing the better brand of basketball of these two teams of late. Charlotte is 8-2 in its last 10 games, while the Hawks are only at 5-5 in the same 10-game sample. Both teams have six losses in divisional play, but Atlanta has one more win in the Southeast than does Charlotte with six as well to sit at .500 in the division entering Sunday afternoon’s contest.

While the Chicago Bulls are very much an injured and struggling team in the NBA as February draws to a close, the Atlanta Hawks were able to put together their first complete game in nearly a month. The last time Atlanta looked that good on the court, they played the Indiana Pacers at home in early February.

Next: Atlanta Hawks end skid versus Chicago Bulls, 103-88

If the Atlanta Hawks can build off their impressive victory over the Chicago Bulls Friday night, they should have little trouble putting away the Hornets at home, as Charlotte has been one of the NBA’s most disappointing road teams this season. Let’s Go Hawks!

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