By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Senior Writer

Atlanta (3-1) at Sacramento (1-3), 10:00 p.m. EDT

One key to a good start for the Atlanta Hawks will be playing
well on the road.

The Hawks look for a second consecutive victory and fourth
straight over the Sacramento Kings when they continue their
four-game road trip Wednesday night.

Two nights after opening the swing with a 118-110 loss to the
Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta (3-1) won 97-91 at Portland on
Tuesday. Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench and Joe
Johnson added 19 for the Hawks, who won despite failing to score
at least 100 points for the first time in four contests.

This early road stretch offers Atlanta a chance to start strong,
especially with winnable games at Sacramento and Charlotte on
Friday to close the trip. The Hawks won their first four road
games last season, but finished 16-25 for their 10th straight
season with a losing record away from home.

The Hawks hope to change that as they seek a third consecutive
playoff appearance.

Atlanta shot 46.3 percent and outscored Portland 50-34 in the
paint thanks to a combined 23 points from Al Horford and Zaza
Pachulia.

Whether home or away, more big nights from Crawford should help
the Hawks.

Acquired in a trade with Golden State in June, Crawford went 8
for 16 from the field for a breakout game after recording 36
points in his previous three with his new team.

"This is the most fun I've had because I haven't had these kinds
of athletes, ever. So it feels good," Crawford said of playing
with the likes of Johnson, Mike Bibby and Josh Smith. "We have a
really, really strong starting five and we have a really good
bench, so we try to balance both and make the best of it."

Crawford is averaging 15.2 points against Sacramento, but 23.3
in his last three against the Kings.

"He's a shotmaker," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "I haven't
had a big-time guy off the bench like that who can score the
ball.

Johnson, meanwhile, is averaging 22.0 points through four games
and the same in his last three versus the Kings.

Mike Bibby, who's averaging just 9.5 points, had 29 and Johnson
added 20 as the Hawks beat the Kings 105-100 on Feb. 18 to snap
an eight-game losing streak at Sacramento.

After opening with three straight road losses, Sacramento (1-3)
looks to build off a 127-116 overtime win over Memphis on
Monday.

Kevin Martin scored 48 points while Beno Udrih added 16 and hit
a game-tying layup in the closing seconds of regulation for the
Kings, who went a miserable 11-30 at home last season.

"It wasn't a must win, but it was a much needed win," said
Martin, who's averaging 31.0 points and scored all but 10
produced by the Kings' starting five.

Despite an unbalanced effort from his starters, first-year Kings
coach Paul Westphal should be happy about his team's depth after
the reserves scored 67 points. Spencer Hawes added 21 points and
11 rebounds off the bench for Sacramento, which hadn't scored
more than 94 points in its previous three games.

Martin scored 63 points on 48.4 percent from the field in two
losses to Atlanta last season.