|
 Horford finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds while Millsap added
22 points and 14 boards plus a block of Rockets center Dwight Howard
with the Hawks (21-13) clinging to a 117-115 lead with 11 seconds
left.
Hawks forward Kent Bazemore added 26 points on five of nine 3-point
shooting while guard Jeff Teague paired 22 points with eight assists
to snap the Rockets' seven-game home winning streak.
Houston (16-17) led 71-56 at the intermission but scored just one
field goal over the last eight-plus minutes. Howard matched Horford
with 30 points and added 16 rebounds while Rockets guard James
Harden scored 26 points, grabbed 10 boards and dished out eight
assists.
The Hawks, having failed to pull ahead in the third quarter, finally
did so when Millsap converted a baseline drive with 5:10 left for a
104-103 lead. Atlanta then followed by intentionally fouling both
Howard and forward Clint Capela (17 points, 10 rebounds), limiting
the Rockets to a point per possession before Howard converted two
free throws with 2:04 remaining for a 113-112 lead.
After going four-plus minutes without scoring and surrendering a
17-0 Rockets run in the process, the Hawks shot their way back into
contention. Horford was the linchpin early in the second quarter,
drilling a pair of 3s before Teague added a trey that cut the
deficit to 12.
But even after the Rockets reclaimed control with a trio of 3s down
the stretch of the second quarter, their 71 first-half points
provided no guarantee. After scoring 41 points in the first quarter,
the most by an Atlanta opponent this season, the Rockets' first-half
scoring binge represented their season high, as did their 69.2
shooting percentage. By the 4:30 mark of the third quarter, what was
a 19-point lead was gone.
[to top of second column] |
Atlanta opened the third quarter with two 3-pointers from Horford
and a 3-point play by Millsap. When Bazemore and Millsap nailed
consecutive 3s the Hawks pulled even at 82-82 and Houston closed the
period shooting seven-for-17 while carrying a 92-85 lead into the
fourth.
NOTES: Rockets F Terrence Jones was sidelined with flulike symptoms,
missing his first game since Nov. 7. Jones had averaged 10.4 points
and 5.1 rebounds over 25 games since returning from an eyelid
laceration. ... Hawks G Kyle Korver has struggled with his shot
throughout the season, with the last three games offering another
difficult stretch. After shooting better than 41.5 percent on
3-pointers in each of the previous six seasons and converting at
46.5 percent during that span, Korver is shooting 38.6 percent from
behind the arc this season, including going two-for-17 on treys over
three games entering Tuesday. ... Rockets interim coach J.B.
Bickerstaff expressed a need to get F Donatas Motiejunas more
consistent minutes. After averaging 18.8 minutes and 9.7 points per
game during a six-game stretch earlier this month, Motiejunas
averaged just 6.8 minutes over the three games entering Tuesday.
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