The Atlanta Hawks (38-31, 8th in Eastern Conference) wrap up a two-game Texas road trip when they visit the Houston Rockets (41-27, 5th in Western Conference) on Friday at Toyota Center (8 p.m. ET, NBA TV).
Here are three storylines to know before tonight’s matchup:
– Hawks going for 12th consecutive win: After winning their 11th straight game on Wednesday, Atlanta will try to make it 12 in a row against Houston, which has dropped two straight and three of its last four games. During their win streak, the Hawks rank first in scoring (124 ppg), rebounding (49.2), plus-minus (17.8), defensive rating (104.2), net rating (17.2) and Player Impact Estimate (58.5), second in assists (31.0) and assist to turnover ratio (2.29), third in steals (10.1) and fourth in offensive rating (121.4). This 11-game win streak is Atlanta’s longest since 2014-15, and represents just their third 10-plus game win streak since 2000. Of the seven teams they’ve beaten during this span, only two teams have records above .500: Philadelphia and Orlando. Atlanta is playing some of its best basketball as the season winds down, an encouraging sign considering nine of the Hawks’ final 13 games are against teams with winning records.
– Dynamic duo gaining momentum: Atlanta’s athletic combo of Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been a catalyst behind this recent surge. Johnson, a first-time All-Star in 2025-26, is posting career-high numbers in scoring (22.9), field goals made (8.5) and attempted (17.2), 3-pointers made (1.6), free throws made (4.3), attempted (5.5) and percentage (78.0), rebounds (10.5), assists (8.1), double-doubles (42), triple-doubles (13), and plus-minus (2.1). The same goes for Alexander-Walker, 27, who is averaging career-highs in scoring (20.3), field goals (6.9), field goal attempts (15.4), 3-pointers made (3.2), free throws (3.4), free throw attempts (3.8), rebounds (3.5), assists (3.7), steals (1.3) and minutes (33.3). Alexander-Walker is even coming off a career-high 41-point outing earlier this week. Both Johnson and Alexander-Walker are top-40 in the NBA in points per game, while Johnson ranks third in double-doubles and second in triple-doubles. Expect Amen Thompson and Tari Eason to see the majority of their minutes shadowing Johnson and Alexander-Walker.
– Kevin Durant closing in on history: Following an 18-point effort during the Rockets’ 124-116 loss to the Lakers on Wednesday, Durant is 51 points away from surpassing Michael Jordan for No. 5 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Although it isn’t likely Durant will record his tenth career outing of 50-plus points, the possibility is certainly real enough, too, given his scoring acumen. Interestingly enough, the future Hall of Famer’s last 50-point game came against Atlanta on April 2, 2022, when he scored a career-best 55 points with the Brooklyn Nets. Durant has posted 24 games with at least 30 points and one with 40 (season-high) in 65 games this season. He’s also less than a month away from notching his 17th consecutive season of averaging at least 25 ppg.
