It turns out a 15-point fourth-quarter lead against the Warriors is not enough.
The Hawks couldn’t keep the comfortable margin and dropped a 101-100 decision to the Warriors as Andre Iguodala hit a 3-pointer as time expired.
The Hawks led by as many as 15 points with six minutes remaining. The Warriors went on a 20-4 run to take a 96-95 lead with 2:31 left. The Hawks got two free throws and a basket from Paul Millsap to lead by three points with 1:22 remaining. Jeff Teague added a free throw with 32.3 seconds left for a four-point advantage, 100-96. Stephen Curry scored in close to make it a two-point game with a half-minute to play. Millsap missed at the shot-clock buzzer giving the Warriors life with 3.2 seconds left.
The Hawks (18-15) had a five-game home win streak snapped. They lost their fourth straight to the Warriors and three in a row at home.
Pero Antic, in his first career start, led the Hawks with career-highs of 16 points, including four 3-pointers, and seven rebounds. Shelvin Mack and Jeff Teague finished with 15 points. Mike Scott, DeMarre Carroll and Millsap all had 12 points. Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 102 games with a 3-pointer.
The Warriors (22-13) have won eight straight, including four on their current seven-game road trip. They defeated the Heat Thursday 123-114.
David Lee had 23 points and Stephen Curry had 22 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, for the Warriors. Klay Thompson added 21 points as Golden State scored 37 fourth-quarter points.
The score was tied at 46-46 at the intermission. The Warriors took an early seven-point lead, 20-13, in the first quarter including making 7 of 8 field goals to start the game. They were aided by nine Hawks turnovers in the opening period.
The Hawks answered with an 18-6 run between the first and second quarters to take a five-point advantage, 31-26, in the first half.
The Hawks finished the first half with 16 field goals, eight from 3-point range. Antic hit for three of them.
The Hawks took a 72-64 lead into the final quarter.
The Hawks entered aware of the Warriors’ 3-point shooting ability. They limited Golden State to 3 of 19 shooting through three quarters.
“They are unique in that they will shoot them early,” coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. “They will shoot them any time. And they can make them. A lot of the basic principles of getting them off the 3-point line and making that a priority are not that different. The way they get them – they can get them off pin-downs, in transition. They’ve probably have a little more variety in the way they get 3’s than the rest of the league.”
The Hawks play at the Bulls Saturday to start a two-game road trip.
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