Atlanta Hawks Team Report - March 2

(Basketball News) - The Hawks’ road woes continued on Tuesday night, as they dropped a 97-74 decision to the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

Al Harrington had 18 points and six rebounds to lead the Hawks, who have lost nine straight. Obinna Ekezie added 12 points for Atlanta, which fell to 0-6 on a seven-game road trip and lost for the 20th straight time as the guest.

Harrington is the lone remaining consistent scorer on the Atlanta roster, as he has posted 17.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest. Tyronn Lue is the second-leading scorer left on the Hawks at 11,4 points per game.

Prior to the game, Atlanta released point guard Gary Payton, who had yet to play for the team since being acquired from Boston in a February 24 trade that sent Antoine Walker packing to Beantown. Payton has said he wants to end his career with a playoff caliber team. Atlanta fell to an NBA worst 10-46 after this setback.

Atlanta shot 1-of-6 from three-point range, shooting 40 percent from the field for the game.

Tom Gugliotta has played in the last two contests against the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Last Wednesday, he was with the Celtics. On Tuesday, he played for the Hawks, part of their deal with Boston that also landed a first-round draft pick. Gugliotta posted seven rebounds and four points in 30 minutes of action.

Former Hawk DerMarr Johnson had 10 points for Denver in the contest.

Atlanta will close out its seven-game road trip in Utah tonight. The Hawks will return home to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday evening.