HOUSTON--It could turn out that the Hawks will need the Sixers to stumble so they can officially hold them off for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Atlanta could have settled the matter on Sunday at Houston but offered little resistance against the Rockets, who shot a season-high for a Hawks opponent to earn a 114-109 victory. The Hawks can clinch the fifth seed if they beat San Antonio on Tuesday at Philips Arena or Philadelphia loses at Boston on the same night.
The Hawks had their winning streak halted at four games. The Rockets, who are trying to earn the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, won their seventh consecutive home game.
Not even 40 points in the second quarter was enough for the Hawks. The Rockets responded with 32 points in the third quarter and pulled away behind Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin's dribble penetration and open-court scoring and Patrick Patterson's rebounding.
Houston shot 57 percent from the field (43 of 75) and scored 56 points in the paint. The Rockets took control in the second half when they collected Atlanta's misses on poor shot selection and pushed the pace.
"We just got kind of seduced into their style of play," Hawks center Al Horford said. "We were doing great in the first half but at some point we had to make a stand defensively. Still, we had a chance to win there at the end."
The Rockets came back from 14 points down to lead 92-85 in the fourth quarter. The Hawks rallied to lead 102-99 with 3:48 to play but couldn't hold on.
Martin scored 13 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter when he made 4 of 5 shots and 5 of 6 free-throws. Martin has scored 20 or more points in 10 of his last 11 games. In four of those games Martin scored 30 points or more.
"He can score," Hawks guard Jeff Teague said. "That's what he does. He can make shots and he knows how to get to the free-throw line. Somebody that is putting that much pressure on you all the time it's always going to be a tough person to guard."
The Hawks had a chance to win because Houston's defense wasn't much better. The Hawks shot 53 percent from the field and came back in the fourth with scoring bursts from Horford, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith.
The Hawks got within 102-99 when Horford made three consecutive baskets, Johnson did the same and Smith made a jumper. The Hawks were down 107-105 after Jamal Crawford made a technical free throw with 1:19 to play.
The Hawks still had the ball but a frantic possession after a timeout resulted in Crawford's forced 3-point miss.
"We just didn't execute the play," Hawks coach Larry Drew said.
On Houston's next possession Lowry got to the rim, drew in defenders and then passed to Luis Scola for a jump shot. After Smith scored, Martin made 1 of 2 free throws before Joe Johnson scored on a layup to cut Houston's lead to 110-109 with 15.2 seconds left.
The Hawks had another chance to tie after Martin made two free throws but Teague missed an off-balance 3-point attempt. Courtney Lee made two free throws with 0.8 seconds left for the final margin.
Atlanta's porous defense sabotaged what was its best offensive game since its 110-85 victory over Milwaukee on March 15. Johnson finished with 25 points and Smith had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Atlanta led 63-49 with 34 seconds left before halftime but the Rockets got out in transition for Lowry's 3-point play and Chase Budinger's layup that cut the lead to 63-54. Atlanta's advantage was quickly down to 65-61 early in the third quarter.
After an Atlanta timeout, Kirk Hinrich assisted on Horford's basket and then made a 3-pointer and a jump shot to push the lead back to 72-61. The Rockets wouldn't fold, though, and tied it at 77.
Hayes made two free throws and Lowry's 3-point play on a fast break gave the Rockets an 86-81 lead at after three quarters.
About the Author
