You can call it the Highlight Factory again. The Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak — all at Philips Arena — with a 97-87 victory over the Pacers on Wednesday night. Josh Smith had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead the much-needed effort for the Hawks (17-9).

NBA commissioner David Stern said Wednesday that Hawks ownership has committed to pay the luxury tax should they exceed the league’s salary cap. Stern said he remains confident in the Atlanta Spirit following the group’s attempt to sell the Hawks and the operating rights to Philips Arena that fell through last year.

This could be the year that Hawks forward Josh Smith is officially recognized as ranking among the star players in the NBA. Then again, Smith thought the same thing when the All-Star teams were announced during the 2010-11 season — and the year before that.

An hour before a recent Hawks practice, Willie Green already had sweated through half his T-shirt. The guard put up shot after shot in an otherwise empty NBA arena. Sixty minutes later, when Green’s teammates arrived, the shirt was completely soaked. After a change to a fresh practice jersey, Green went through another hour of practice.

Apparently, there is no place like the road for the Hawks these days. After a recently-completed 4-1 road trip, the Hawks dropped their third straight home game Monday night, this one a 99-90 defeat at the hands of the Suns. The Hawks (16-7, 8-4 home) have now lost to the Grizzlies (by 19), 76ers (11) and Suns (nine).

Monday was the first day NBA teams were able to sign players to 10-day contracts. The Hawks made no move with Jason Collins (sprained left elbow) out for the next two weeks. “Not a whole lot of news,” coach Larry Drew said of the team’s pursuit of a big man.

There are people who marvel at how rookie forward Ivan Johnson has become a key player for the Hawks. Coach Larry Drew holds up Johnson's relentless energy as an example for the rest of the team. Teammate Josh Smith nominates Johnson to play in the rookie game on All-Star weekend.

It has been more than three weeks since the Hawks lost Al Horford to an injury that required surgery, and a couple of things have become clear. The Hawks are good enough to defeat struggling opponents without Horford, their All-Star center. But beating good teams, especially those with the size and aggressive scorers to exploit them inside, is a tougher task.

Center Jason Collins will miss at least two weeks, the Hawks said Saturday, after suffering what the team called a sprained left elbow. Collins sustained the injury during the Hawks’ 96-77 loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Collins, who had his arm pinned underneath an opponent while chasing a loose ball, said he feels fortunate the injury wasn’t more serious.

The Hawks are down to one healthy center and must step up their ongoing search for help at the position. Jason Collins had an MRI on his sprained left elbow Friday. The team is waiting on the results of the test for a better indication of how much time Collins will miss.

Larry Drew was afraid it would happen. The Hawks coach even issued a warning to his team, but it didn’t help. Drew feared a letdown against the Grizzlies after his team’s recently completed 4-1 road trip had them tied for first in the Southeast Division and second in the Eastern Conference.

Joe Johnson will have to wait another week to see if he is named to the NBA All-Star team. The Hawks guard was not one of the five Eastern Conference starters, as determined by fan voting, announced by the league Thursday night. Johnson is a strong candidate to be named to his sixth consecutive All-Star team when the reserves are announced Feb.

The Hawks met Thursday with a representative of Kenyon Martin, according to a person with knowledge of the team’s thinking. The 11-year veteran center is playing in China and can return to the NBA following the season in several weeks. He reportedly has also drawn interest from the Heat, Clippers, Spurs and Knicks.

Hawks players were given the day off Wednesday, a reward for a just completed 4-1 road trip. Take a deep breath. It’s a brief respite as the team opens a four-game homestand Thursday against the Grizzlies. The Hawks will also host the 76ers, Suns and Pacers over the next seven days at Philips Arena where they are 8-1 this season.

TORONTO (AP) — Joe Johnson needed just three quarters to have one of his best games of the season. Johnson matched his season high with 30 points, Tracy McGrady scored 15 against his former team and the Hawks recorded their sixth consecutive victory over the Raptors, beating Toronto 100-77 on Tuesday night.

NEW ORLEANS – Slow start? Not this time. The Hawks got off to a sizzling beginning against the Hornets – a game they never trailed – en route to a 94-72 victory Sunday. The Hawks fell behind in their past two games, a loss to the Spurs and an overtime win over the Pistons, but they would have none of that in the Big Easy.

Jeff Teague started at point guard despite an ankle sprain that limited him in Friday’s overtime win in Detroit. Teague played 17 minutes in the first half with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Joe Johnson, who entered Sunday 15th in the NBA in scoring at 19.

Hawks starting point guard Jeff Teague is day-to-day with an ankle sprain and is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Hornets. Teague was injured in Friday night’s 107-101 overtime win at the Pistons. He played 21 minutes, scoring two points (1-of-3 shooting) with three assists and three turnovers.

All signs suggested the Pistons should have been pushovers for the Hawks. Detroit is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings while the Hawks are near the top. The Pistons are among the worst offensive teams in the NBA, are even worse on defense and their once-intimidating home building lacks life because of all the losing.

During training camp Hawks captains Josh Smith, Joe Johnson and Al Horford called on the team to add another center to bolster its undersized front line. The Hawks had Horford, an All-Star center, solid backup Zaza Pachulia and 7-foot specialist Jason Collins.

Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair both scored 17 points, and the San Antonio Spurs handed the surging Atlanta Hawks their first lopsided loss of the season, 105-83 on Wednesday night. Tiago Splitter added 16 points for the Spurs, who relished a convincing win over the Southeast Division leaders after losing two of their previous three and barely squeaking past woeful New Orleans on Monday night.

These are the times when Hawks coach Larry Drew must feel like a middle manager. Drew has lots of qualified employees on his roster, but a limited amount of opportunities for them to show their stuff. The situation is about to get trickier with guard Kirk Hinrich nearing a return from injury, possibly Wednesday at San Antonio.

Some times the shots are just too enticing for the Hawks to pass up. Their opponents back off and beckon them to launch jump shots. The Hawks oblige, without regard to time, score or the quality of those shots. The Hawks didn't exactly kick the habit on Monday at Milwaukee.

Too bad the Hawks don’t get frequent flier miles. They are about to embark on a five-city, nine-day road trip that will cover nearly 6,000 miles. It’s one more oddity of the NBA’s compacted schedule this season. The north-south alternating excursion begins in Milwaukee on Monday, goes to San Antonio, Detroit, New Orleans and ends in Toronto on Jan.

During the NBA lockout, the Hawks leadership used the time to go antiquing. The franchise absolutely fell in love with the patina of the former All-Star. The urge to redesign around that theme grew overwhelming. Wouldn’t a couple of those vintage players just look fabulous on the bench? So the team reached back to the first round of your 2001 NBA Fantasy League draft to find some role players for the 2011-12 season.