Warriors will challenge Hawks' 3-point defense

The Atlanta Hawks have been struggling with their 3-point defense. So it may be an unfortunate bit of scheduling that Golden State, one of the league's best at shooting from long range, is next on the schedule.

The Warriors, who rank No. 4 in the NBA in 3-point baskets and are good on 38.2 percent, make their only appearance in Atlanta on Monday night. They'll face a Hawks team (34-28) that ranks No. 28 in the number of 3-pointers allowed. Only Sacramento and Charlotte have allowed more.

The trouble continued on Sunday for Atlanta, which allowed Indiana to make 15 3-pointers. The final one came from Glenn Robinson III with 0.6 seconds and enabled the Pacers to beat the Hawks 97-96. Paul George made six 3-pointers in the game, the 11th time the Hawks have allowed an opponent to make at least 15 treys.

That setback came on the heels of an NBA-record 25 3-pointers that were made against the Hawks by Cleveland on Friday night. Dallas had made 14 only two days earlier. Over the last 10 games, the opposition has averaged 15 3-point baskets.

"At some point we had to get better defensively, get better guarding the 3-point line," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said after the Cleveland game. "I think it's pretty obvious that Dwight (Howard) is going to do a good job of protecting the paint and do a great job at the rim. It's a challenge for us and for him to find all the shooters."

Golden State (51-11) made 13 3-pointers in its 112-105 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday. Stephen Curry had five 3-pointers and scored 31 and Klay Thompson had four 3-pointers and scored 29.

The offensive explosion by Curry moved him into the top 10 on the NBA's career 3-point list. He emerged from a 4-for-31 slump on 3-pointers during Golden State's road trip.

"We knew we'd be fine, getting back to who we are," Curry said. "In the NBA in an 82-game season, a lot can happen. You have an opportunity to get back to it. (Sunday) was like that and we want to finish our trip in Atlanta strong."

Budenholzer will return to the bench after serving a one-game suspension for bumping a referee. The incident occurred in Friday's game against Cleveland and Budenholzer apologized for his action. Darvin Ham moved over from his assistant's chair to act as head coach.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Golden State beat Atlanta 105-100 on Nov. 28 when the Hawks were in the throes of a stretch that saw them lose seven straight and 10 of 11 games.

Atlanta will play again on Wednesday against Brooklyn, the fifth game of a six-game homestand. Golden State returns home to play Boston on Wednesday.