Recap: Atlanta vs. Golden State
Sports Network | March 5, 2010
Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Josh Smith put in a season-high 29 points and Al Horford came up with 27 and 15 rebounds, as Atlanta overcame a poor defensive effort to top a short-handed Golden State squad, 127-122, at Philips Arena.
Mike Bibby also went for a season high with 23 points, while Jamal Crawford scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as Atlanta won its fourth in a row to keep pace with Southeast Division-leading Orlando.
Marvin Williams kicked in 12 points and 14 boards to help offset Joe Johnson's 3-for-14 night from the floor for the Hawks, who have won six of their last seven overall.
"We never really have problems scoring, but we couldn't get the stops there. (Golden State) was doing a lot of pull-ups and stuff that we weren't used to. Their shots were going in, but we got the stops when we needed to," Bibby said.
Stephen Curry recorded 31 points and 11 assists for Golden State, which ran its losing streak to nine games.
Anthony Morrow had 21 points, while both Anthony Tolliver and C.J. Watson added 20 points. Corey Maggette checked in with 18 points in defeat.
The Hawks carried a slim four-point edge into the final period and quickly opened up a 99-89 lead on Crawford's three-ball less than two minutes in.
Crawford added another from beyond the arc moments later, but an 8-0 Golden State run created a two-point game after Tolliver buried a three near the seven-minute mark.
Two Horford free throws gave the hosts a 112-106 edge with under five minutes to go, but the Warriors hung tough and again cut it to a deuce on Morrow's trip to the line about a minute later.
It was still a one-possession game with two minutes remaining following a Morrow jumper, and a three-point play by Curry with 49.6 seconds on the clock made it 119-118, still in favor of the Hawks.
Atlanta, which made 30-of-40 free throws in the game, sank eight straight from the line to close out the win while Golden State missed two of its last three shots.
"We played a pretty darn good game. Again, we had a chance. We needed to make a couple shots down the stretch, which we didn't do, and they made the free throws and did the right things," said Warriors coach Don Nelson.
A pair of potent offenses slugged it out over the opening 24 minutes to result in a tie game at halftime, as both Atlanta and Golden State scored 35 and 28, points, respectively, in the first two frames.
A tightly contested third quarter saw Atlanta move ahead by four, 92-88, heading to the fourth.
Johnson reached 12,000 points for his career with 10 and eight assists...Warriors leading scorer Monta Ellis has missed the last four games and is out indefinitely. Center Andris Biedrins (groin) has been out three straight games and will be re-evaluated on Monday...Golden State is 4-26 on the road this season and will visit Charlotte and New Orleans to close out a five-game road trip...Golden State defeated Atlanta, 108-104, in Oakland on February 21 and were aiming for their first season sweep in the series since 2004-05...The Hawks moved to 25-7 at home.
