Hawks end four-game losing streak with victory over Timberwolves

By Michael Cunningham

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After a week of blown leads and bitter defeats to quality opponents, the Hawks weren't going to discount holding on for a sloppy victory over the struggling Timberwolves.

Atlanta ended its losing streak at four games with a 111-105 victory over Minnesota on Sunday at Philips Arena. The Hawks led most of the game, but their 14-point advantage was whittled down to five three times in the final four minutes before they secured the victory.

"At this point we've just got to stop the bleeding," Hawks guard Jamal Crawford said. "We slipped a little bit late in the game but we got the win."

It was Atlanta's first victory since winning 113-103 at Minnesota, one of the worst teams in the league, on Nov. 5.

"There was a sense of urgency and that's the way it should be every time," said Hawks center Al Horford, who had a game-high 28 points with 10 rebounds. "That's what we're trying to get to. We're still trying to develop our identity."

So far the Hawks (7-4) have shown a tendency to get careless with big leads. The Timberwolves (3-8) had won their previous two games and tried to get another victory when Atlanta left them an opening.

After gaining a 97-86 lead, the Hawks failed to score on four straight possessions, with two missed shots and two turnovers. Meanwhile, Anthony Tolliver and Wesley Johnson made 3-pointers for Minnesota, and Atlanta's lead was down to 97-92 inside four minutes to play.

"We were a little careless out there with the basketball and not necessarily running our offense like we should have," Horford said.

Josh Smith and Joe Johnson scored and Horford made two free throws to push the lead to 103-92. The Hawks held on to win by connecting on 8 of 10 free throws over the final 1:13.

"We'll certainly take the win," Hawks coach Larry Drew said.

Smith had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Joe Johnson added 17 points and five assists for the Hawks, who turned 21 Minnesota turnovers into 23 points. Minnesota rallied with 33 points in the fourth quarter, led by eight each from Michael Beasley and Kevin Love.

Atlanta was sluggish when the afternoon game began. Minnesota made 7 of its first 9 shots to lead 17-7. Smith's putback basket got the Hawks started and their bench players kept the momentum going.

Smith's score was the start of a 23-10 Hawks run to end the first period. Horford scored on a hook shot to give Atlanta its first lead at 23-21 and Crawford made consecutive baskets to put his team up 30-27 at the end of the quarter.

Atlanta's subs continued to boost the team in the second quarter. Mo Evans, Jeff Teague, Zaza Pachulia, Josh Powell and Crawford combined to score 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the period, and the Hawks led 60-52 at halftime with a 23-13 edge in bench scoring.

The Hawks led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before their careless turnovers and poor shot selection, plus Minnesota's hot shooters, made it close.

"We had ample opportunity to create separation but we made some bad plays and bad decisions," Drew said.