Since 1997, the Atlanta Hawks have had 10 teams to win 40 games or more. However, none of those teams managed to beat the San Antonio Spurs on their own turf.
With that said, seeing as the Hawks are at 9-32 entering Friday, it's surprising that the 23-year-old curse was broken. Led by 31 points, five rebounds and nine assists from Trae Young, Atlanta was able to best the Spurs at AT&T Center by a final score of 121-120.
For San Antonio, the loss broke a 21-game home streak against the Hawks, which was the longest such streak in the NBA.
The Spurs lost to the Hawks at home for the first time since February 1997. Their 21-game home winning streak against the Hawks was the longest active such streak in the NBA.
None of the Hawks starting 5 were born the last time Atlanta won in San Antonio.
(h/t @EliasSports)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 18, 2020
The last time the Hawks accomplished this feat was on February 15, 1997. That Hawks squad featured players like Steve Smith, Christian Laettner and Dikembe Mutombo back then
The current Hawks squad boasts the incredibly young starting lineup of Young, Kevin Huerter, De'Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish and John Collins. With Hunter being the oldest starter at 22 years and 46 days old, no member of Atlanta's starting five was even born the last time the team beat the Spurs at home.
While the Spurs have been incredibly successful throughout the 21st century, San Antonio has struggled for most of this season. The loss to Atlanta makes them 17-23 on the campaign, which puts them in 10th place in the Western Conference — two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for a playoff spot.
The same season they lost to the Hawks in 1997 was coincidentally the only time in the last 23 seasons when the Spurs failed to qualify for the Playoffs. San Antonio has also missed the playoffs just twice since 1989.
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