There's a reason the Hawks' playoff hopes have been on life support the past three months.

Losing leads of 19 and 22 points in the same game the way they did in Friday night's nail-biting 106-103 victory over Chicago at Philips Arena is a sparkling reminder.

Sure, the Hawks held on to beat the Bulls. But that was after doing everything in their power to toss a game they should have won easily onto the mile-high pile of missed chances that have defined their season.

If Ben Gordon's 27-footer at the buzzer hadn't rolled off the rim, the Hawks would have had to take their chances in overtime against a rugged Bulls team that was charging back for the win.

Marvin Williams secured the rebound of that miss to preserve the win for the Hawks (32-40), who moved a full game and a half ahead of New Jersey for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, thanks to the Nets' 123-115 loss to the Pacers.

Hawks rookie center Al Horford provided the game-winning points on a fast-break dunk with five seconds to play, having slipped behind the Bulls' defense on an inbounds play.

"Everybody got caught looking at the ball, and I just took off," said Horford, who finished with 16 points, three rebounds and two blocks. "I thought there was less time on the clock than there was, but I knew I had to go score and make sure we had the cushion.

"The worst part is we had those leads. But Chicago is such a tough team, they never go away. We did get a little complacent out there, but fortunately guys stepped up and made big plays, and were able to hold them off and get the win."

With a chance to salt the game away in the final minute with one hard drive to the basket, Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson instead chose to shoot a 26-footer.

Johnson was so tired, having played 40-plus minutes in 10 of the Hawks' past 12 games, he told his teammates he didn't have the energy to do anything but hoist up a bad shot.

That's how the Hawks played the entire fourth quarter, like they were exhausted. And the Bulls took advantage. Gordon scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and Andres Nocioni was a force on offense and defense, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

Johnson scored 19 points — but on 7-for-24 shooting. He also had seven assists.

"They had that extra boost that we didn't have," Josh Smith said after finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

Hawks point guard Mike Bibby made sure of it early. He shook off the pain of a sprained left thumb and led the Hawks with a season-high 30 points (18 of those at halftime), eight assists and three rebounds without a single turnover. He made six of his eight shots from beyond the 3-point line.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson wasn't even sure Bibby would be able to play before the game.

"We laid off a little bit and got too relaxed," Bibby said. "And hey, that's not the first time it's happened, and it won't be the last either. We withstood it, though. And that's all that matters."

Indeed. Now that the Hawks have a little breathing room.

"We have to spread this thing out a little bit," Bibby said. "There aren't many games left. We have to cross everybody out of the picture and we'll be fine."