Schroder benched; Warriors run away from Hawks

Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder takes it to the basket battling Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry on his way to two of his 19 first period points in a NBA basketball game on Monday, March 6, 2017, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder takes it to the basket battling Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry on his way to two of his 19 first period points in a NBA basketball game on Monday, March 6, 2017, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

The points didn’t matter.

Hawks starting point guard Dennis Schroder played just three minutes of the second half before he was apparently benched by coach Mike Budenholzer. Schroder had 23 points, including 19 in the first quarter, of the Hawks 119-111 loss to the Warriors Monday night at Philips Arena.

Schroder did not appear to be injured and remained on the bench after he was taken out early in the third quarter.

The Hawks (34-29) lost their third straight game. They have now dropped six of the past eight games. They have also lost five straight games to the Warriors.

Paul Millsap had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 points, his 18th straight double-figure scoring game. Ersan Ilyasova had 15 points and Dwight Howard had eight points and 19 rebounds.

The Warriors (52-11) used 13 second-half 3-pointers in the victory. They had six double-digit scorers, including three reserves. Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala had 24 points each to lead the scoring.

The Warriors have won two straight after a season-long two-game losing streak.

The Hawks jumped out early with a 42-point first quarter. It matched the highest-scoring period of any quarter this season, matching the fourth-quarter output against the Cavaliers on Friday. The Hawks led by as many as 10 points in the opening quarter.

The Hawks pushed their lead to as many as 15 points in the second half. However, they only took a 66-61 advantage at halftime. The Warriors used a 14-2 run midway through the period to close the deficit. Schroder scored 23 first-half points, including 19 in the first quarter.

The Warriors opened the third quarter on a 26-10 run to take an 87-76 advantage. The run included six 3-pointers, one less than they had in the entire first half. The Hawks closed to get within 94-90 headed into the fourth quarter.

The Hawks got as close as one point when Ersan Ilyasova opened the final period with a 3-pointer. However, the Warriors put the game away by following with a 14-3 run for a 12-point lead, 108-96.