Murray lifts Hawks past Warriors

The Hawks’ post-Boston hangover lasted two quarters this time instead of three games.

And while it probably took a little bit longer than expected, and certainly longer than it should have, the Hawks finally figured out the Golden State Warriors in time to salvage 115-99 win at Philips Arena.

The last time the Hawks tried to get back on track after losing to the Celtics, they spent three games running in place, losing to New Jersey twice and Indiana before bouncing back from their first defeat of the season Nov. 12 in Boston.

Wednesday’s 88-85 loss to the Celtics was just as tough to swallow as that earlier setback, but the Hawks let their funk last for only the second and third quarters Friday night.

“You have to respect everybody,” said Hawks forward Marvin Williams, who led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds Friday night. “We ought to know that better than anybody because that [Golden State] used to be us. You let a hungry, young team stay around for long enough and they’ll put a scare into you.

“On paper when a team looks better than us, everybody’s clicking and ready to go. But when it’s the other way around, it’s like maybe we think we can take a night off or something. And that’s not ever the case. Now don’t get me wrong, we got the win, and that’s the most important thing. But we need to learn how to keep a lead.”

The Hawks improved to 16-10 on the season and 3-1 on their current eight-game home stand, which continues Sunday afternoon against Detroit.

Rather than smothering defense and a relentless rebounding effort to get a win, they matched a season-high with 34 assists. That helped them rally from a six-point deficit and run away from the Warriors late.

Flip Murray added 20 points off the bench, playing to the buzzer in the fourth quarter in place of starting point guard Mike Bibby, who finished with seven points, seven assists and eight rebounds.

Joe Johnson finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Josh Smith added 14 points, seven assists, six rebounds and one block, and Al Horford had 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

The Hawks needed every bit to fend off the Warriors, 7-20, who got a career night from Marco Belinelli, who finished with 27 points and six assists in place of Warriors captain Stephen Jackson, who was out with a hand injury.

The Warriors also played without Corey Maggette (hamstring). But it didn’t matter when they were controlling the action just before and right after halftime.

“I’m happy with the way we played, but the Hawks shut us down in the fourth quarter,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said after his team was outscored 36-18 in the fourth. “I think we got their attention. Marco and Brandan Wright (19 points and eight rebounds) had their best games of the season. …

“Flip Murray and Joe Johnson got them back in the game, and they moved the ball very well in the second half of the game. Joe is an amazing player and he does so much on the court that it’s hard to contain him. In my opinion, he’s one of the best players in the game, a legitimate All-Star.”

But not even he can convince these Hawks to buckle down from start to finish against an opponent with just seven wins.

“We don’t respect everybody and I don’t give a [dang] how much they preach to us about it,” Johnson said. “We don’t respect every team in this league because if we did our record would be a lot better than it is and the wins would come a lot easier than they do.”