Hawks snap nine-game losing streak to Heat

“It’s real big, especially coming off the loss that we had (against the Nets in London on Thursday),” Millsap said. “It’s a big one to get something started. Against a good team like that we found a way to win and hopefully we continue to do it.”

The Hawks (21-19) snapped a two-game losing streak to stay above the .500 mark. They had lost five of the previous seven games — but the wins were home victories over the Pacers and Rockets. The Hawks had lost seven consecutive games at Philips Arena to the Heat. They last defeated the two-time defending world champions Jan. 2, 2012.

Millsap called his team together as the Heat took a three-point lead, 107-104, with 6:32 remaining. His message was simple.

“We’ve been in this similar position before,” DeMarre Carroll related. “Golden State, they hit a game-winner on us. Paul pulled everybody aside and said ‘We are going to win this game.’ When you have your leader say that, everybody gets on board.”

Carroll added 19 points to lead seven Hawks in double figures. Pero Antic (career-high 17 points), Shelvin Mack (13), Mike Scott (12), Lou Williams (12) and Korver (12) all scored in double-digits. Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 109 games with a 3-pointer.

The Heat (29-12) had a two-game win streak snapped. They ended a six-game trip with a 2-4 mark. LeBron James scored a game-high 30 points to lead the way. The Heat, for the third time this season against the Hawks, played without Dwyane Wade.

James made back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give the Heat the brief three-point lead. The Hawks answered with a 10-1 run, aided by a Mario Chalmers turnover, a Millsap block of Chris Bosh at the rim and a Bosh air ball.

The Heat got back to within three points with a Norris Cole 3-pointer. Millsap found Antic for a basket with 1:57 left. James answered with a three-point play to pull the Heat to within two points, 116-114, with 1:12 left. It would be the Heat’s final points.

Millsap found Korver for the wide-open 3-pointer, and the guard added two free throws for the final margin after a James’ pass went into the Philips Arena crowd.

“I was almost too open, right?” Korver said. “… They were focused on Paul. He had a great fourth quarter, and we were just feeding him. He dumped off passes to Pero. Made plays at the rim for himself. Pero set a good flare screen for me, and I was wide open. It’s one of those ones when you are so open you better make it. I don’t get too many of them so when I do, I get a little nervous.”

The Hawks took a 71-70 lead into halftime after leading by as many as 12 points in the second quarter. The Hawks shot 58 percent and the Heat shot 53 percent in the first half. The teams combined to make 19 of 34 3-pointers. Both the 71 points scored and 70 points allowed were first-half season highs for the Hawks.

Millsap had 20 first-half points for the Hawks.

“I felt like everything was clicking,” Millsap said of his early success. “We shared the basketball well. Guys were moving without the basketball. It opened a lot of things for us.

“I’ve felt it more than that a few times. I was just taking what the defense gave me. Coach ran some plays for me. I was able to get some easy buckets at the basket.”

The Hawks took a 97-97 advantage into the final quarter.

“With all the scoring that happened in the first half, we talked about one team was going to make more stops in the second half,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We wanted to be that team to make the commitment to get some stops defensively and still continue to play with pace and continue to score at the same pace.

“I think two 20-point (defensive) quarters, in the third and fourth quarters, is a real positive for our group to find a way to get some stops against a very talented, well-coached team. We were able to score just enough to find a way to get a win.”

The Hawks go on the road, where they have lost four of their past five games, to play the Magic on Wednesday.