The Atlanta Hawks get the western portion of their six-game road trip off to a good start with a 106-99 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Atlanta's defense help jump start its offense with the Hawks coming up with 14 steals on the night. Josh Smith was magnificent once again scoring 12 of his 28 points in the third quarter where Atlanta turned a one point deficit into a six point lead.
Joe Johnson added 21 points while going 5-13 from the field and 9-9 from the free throw line. Johnson also handed out six assists came up with four steals. Jeff Teague had a great outing finishing with 16 points, seven assists and three steals. Marvin Williams and Kirk Hinrich each finished with 12 points while Zaza Pachulia added 10 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out late.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 28 points to lead the Kings and John Salmons chipped in 14 off the bench. Jimmer Fredette and Marcus Thornton scored 12 points each. Atlanta held Tyreke Evans to eight points on 4-14 shooting.
Atlanta's road trip continues on Tuesday with a stop in Denver before wrapping things up in Los Angeles on Wednesday against the Clippers.
For more on this game Hawks fans should visit Peachtree Hoops and Kings fans should check out Sactown Royalty. For more news and analysis from around the NBA head on over to SB Nation's NBA Basketball page.