Hawks’ win streak snapped, but they are still one of NBA’s best teams

And to think the lowly Lakers are one of the nine teams to beat the Atlanta Hawks this season -- and in Atlanta, no less.

It took more than a month, but the high-flying Hawks finally lost another game, dropping a 115-100 contest to the Pelicans in New Orleans on Monday night.

That broke Atlanta’s 19-game winning streak, a streak that started back on Dec. 27, with a win at Milwaukee.

Seventeen of the wins came in the month of January, the best record in a calendar month in NBA history, according to Elias Sports.

A day before the Hawks began their winning streak, they were in second place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Toronto Raptors.

Today, the 40-9 Hawks are in first place in the East, seven games ahead of the Raptors.

Still, Atlanta gets overlooked and is not considered championship-worthy.

After all the Hawks have done this season, the sports gambling website Bovada.lv on Tuesday had them as 16-1 favorites to win the NBA championship -- behind Golden State (5-1), Cleveland (6-1) and San Antonio (11-2).

But the Hawks are a very good team ... even if they did lose to the Lakers.

Twitter:@BA_Turner