Atlanta Hawks rout Sacramento

ATLANTA — George Karl might be wondering if he made the right choice to return to the sideline.

The Atlanta Hawks blasted Karl’s Sacramento Kings 130-105 Monday at Philips Arena. The loss was Sacramento’s fourth straight, and it was embarrassing.

The Hawks, who were coming off their own embarrassing defeat to the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, had 42 assists on 53 field goals, made 20 3-pointers and shot 60.2 percent from the floor.

The Hawks had 100 points with three minutes left in the third quarter after point guard Jeff Teague drained a 3-pointer. All five Atlanta starters scored in double figures, led by forward DeMarre Carroll and guard Kyle Korver, who each finished with 20. Teague added 18 points and 13 assists.

The Kings (21-41) lagged on defense, surrendering open shots to the Hawks’ sharp-shooters. Korver made six 3-pointers, and Carroll hit four treys, most of the wide-open variety. Korver and Carroll each sank three 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Hawks jumped out to a 33-20 lead.

With Atlanta ahead by 17 in the second quarter, the Kings’ body language quickly deteriorated. Sacramento’s defensive rotations were lazy, and there was constant bickering at the referees. Sacramento mascot Slamson the Lion put up more of a fight in a boxing match against Harry the Hawk than the Kings did. Eventually, Slamson went down, though, and so did Karl’s struggling team.

Karl replaced Tyrone Corbin at the All-Star break, becoming the team’s third head coach of the season, but he hasn’t been able to turn around the Kings’ fortunes. Sacramento fell to 3-8 under Karl.

Atlanta (50-13) hit 12 3-pointers and had 25 assists on 30 field goals in the first half. The Hawks made 62.5 percent of their field-goal attempts en route to a 76-54 halftime lead. Carroll scored all 20 of his points in the first half.

Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins had his first two shots blocked and instantly started chirping at the refs. He didn’t score until connecting on a pair of free throws with 5:20 to play in the first half, and he picked up a technical foul later in the half. Cousins finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Forward Rudy Gay led the Kings with 23 points.

With the Hawks maintaining a secure grasp on the top seed in the Eastern Conference, coach Mike Budenholzer rested Korver, Carroll and forward Paul Millsap in a Saturday loss to the 76ers. The Hawks lost 92-84 to the Sixers, two days after knocking off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Atlanta rebounded Monday in impressive fashion and now heads on a five-game West Coast road trip that concludes with a showdown against the Golden State Warriors on March 18.

NOTES: The Hawks will be in the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season, the longest active postseason streak in the Eastern Conference and the longest such streak in team history. … Sacramento’s previous three opponents all shot better than 50 percent from the floor. The Kings lost all three games. … Kings F Carl Landry started in place of F Jason Thompson. … Hawks C Pero Antic was out due to a left ankle sprain. … Atlanta begins its road trip at Denver on Wednesday. … Sacramento plays the Hornets in Charlotte on Wednesday.