Durant's Rockets smash Hawks to snap win streak

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Dyson Daniels and the Atlanta Hawks have had their 11-game winning streak snapped in dominant fashion after NBA superstar Kevin Durant led the Houston Rockets to a blowout 117-95 victory at the Toyota Center.

Daniels, who had been a key ingredient in Atlanta's rise up the Eastern Conference standings both as a offensive initiator alongside Jalen Johnson and on the defensive end, had a night to forget as the Hawks fell back half a game behind the sixth-placed Orlando Magic.

Last season's Most Improved Player had just three points in the 22-point loss, going 1-from-5 from the field, with three rebounds as well as two steals and one assist.

Daniels was a minus-14 in his 25 minutes as Durant (25 points) and Jabari Smith Jr (23 points) helped the Rockets bounce back from back-to-back losses at home to Western Conference rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers earlier in the week.

The clash with Houston was one of Atlanta's big tests during this recent run, where their winning streak mostly included victories over teams suggested to be tanking for a high draft lottery position. Quin Snyder's team's impressive results during the streak came against a previously red-hot Orlando Magic while no other wins came against teams sitting in the top six of their respective conference.

However, the new-look Hawks who underwent a rejuvenation following multiple deals at the trade deadline, were without former Golden State Warrior Johnathan Kuminga (knee issues) for their clash with Houston. The talented wing is expected to return for the first match-up with his former team tomorrow (March 22).

Snyder said the defensive pressure of the Rockets impacted Atlanta's decision making on the offensive end.

"I think they came out, and we talked about it, just really urgent and really aggressive," he said in the post-game press conference.

"We were playing hard but they sped us up a little bit where I think early in the game if affected our decision making. Everything was a little bit rushed.

"Then I thought we responded by getting more aggressive and that's why it was a game at halftime.

"I think the third quarter was a combination of a number of things. We had some really good looks from three that we didn't make, when we did get to the rim, we didn't convert a number of high percentage layup opportunities in the paint. It's really hard to defend against those.

'So, I thought they were able to get out and run and convert on those and then when you play a team as physical as they are, that switches they way they do, you have to move the ball before you can attack, just to loosen them up.

"We started to get a feel for that as the game went on... we competed, we didn't play well but I think... we contine to compete and that's how you begin to raise your level."