-- - The Atlanta Hawks headed west on their longest road trip of the season with really just one goal left to accomplish: Be at their best when the playoffs begin. After becoming the first NBA team to reach 50 wins (a few hours ahead of Golden State) with Monday's 130-105 rout of Sacramento, the Hawks (50-13) left Tuesday on a six-game sojourn. They open the trip Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets, followed by games against Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento, Golden State and Oklahoma City. There's one back-to-back in that stretch - the Lakers on Sunday, followed by the Kings the following night - so that's a logical point for coach Mike Budenholzer to split up some rest for his starters.