Hawks halt Utah’s 12-game winning streak

Knocking off the NBA’s hottest team and matching last season’s win total with 17 games to play is ample cause for a smile.

But that clinched-teeth grin Al Horford was sporting after the Hawks’ 100-93 win over Utah on Wednesday night at Philips Arena had nothing to do with the Hawks’ snapping the Jazz’s 12-game win streak or the Hawks’ 37th victory of the season.

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Hawks guard Joe Johnson drives against Utah’s Ronnie Brewer. Johnson scored 31 points.

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There’s no time to waste when you’re locked into a heated battle for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture with Miami. Not when the Heat is winning in jaw-dropping fashion as well.

“The Heat is hot and winning, too,” Horford said. “But we’ve got to worry about ourselves. We’re looking and paying attention to the road ahead but we’re also keeping an eye on them and what they’re doing.”

The Hawks (37-28) have a 1 1/2-game lead over the Heat (35-29), who defeated Boston at home Wednesday night and play the Jazz on Saturday in Miami.

It’s hard to ignore what the Hawks have done in their past two games.

They rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat New Orleans on Monday night, snapping the Hornets’ seven-game win streak. Ending the Jazz’s streak was even more impressive when you consider that the Hawks led by 16 early, lost that lead and then rallied from a five-point deficit in the final two minutes of the third quarter to defeat a Jazz team that hadn’t lost since Feb. 8.

They pounded out the win with defense, huge shots and a collective effort that has to rank as their best of the season. They outscored the Jazz 27-18 in the fourth quarter, after being clobbered 33-18 in the third.

Flip Murray led the Hawks with 11 points of his 16 points off the bench, while Horford and Josh Smith each added six points and three rebounds and Joe Johnson four points and four assists.

“We’ve had some fourth quarters like that earlier in the year when we started out,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said, trying to find the right words to describe his team’s Herculean effort. “But this fourth quarter was huge for us from a defensive standpoint.”

Johnson torched the Jazz for a game-high 31 points, on 10-for-20 shooting from the floor. He had 21 by halftime and also added nine assists and three rebounds.

“This is the type intensity we need going into the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve been good at home, but knowing what’s at stake, we’ve played with even more intensity these past two games. It’s about having the will and figuring out a way every night to pull out a victory. That’s our mission right now.”

Smith and Al Horford turned in matching double-doubles for the second consecutive game. Smith was relentless with 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. He also sank the game-clinching free throws with 24.3 seconds to play.

“We had to buckle down in the fourth quarter, or we were going to get run out of the building like we did in the third quarter,” Smith said. “Utah is an outstanding team, one of the best in the Western Conference, and we were able to come in and match their intensity. We didn’t back down.”

Horford finished his night with 13 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, including a huge swat of a Paul Millsap layup in the final seconds, as well as two steals and two assists.

“All I know is we’re taking care of home,” he said, still smiling. “We’re down the stretch and we’ve got to win games like this. I just like the way our team is playing right now. We’ve got to keep it up.”