A brief recap of how the Hawks rallied furiously to win their fifth straight game:
How the game was won: With a 32-9 closeout, the Hawks in memorable fashion erased two-plus quarters of mostly forgettable basketball — and a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit — to turn back the short-staffed Rockets.
Paul Millsap went for 16 points and 14 rebounds, Al Horford scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half and Atlanta points guards Jeff Teague (25 points, six assists) and Dennis Schroder (16, eight) caused problems for Houston throughout.
The Rockets were missing their two leading scorers, but they lit up the Hawks in the first half while taking a 59-45 halftime lead, and led 87-72 on Pablo Prigioni’s 3-pointer with 10:32 left in the game.
Turning point: After the Prigioni bomb, the Hawks outscored the visitors 32-9 to sweep the season series from Houston — which was missing suspending shooting guard James Harden and center Dwight Howard (knee).
Number:21. Houston guard Jason Terry, a former Hawk, led the Rockets with a season-high 21 points off the bench. Former Hawk Josh Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role.
Next: The Hawks will play host to Cleveland and LeBron James on Friday night before a game Saturday in Philadelphia.
