Hawks end skid vs. Spurs, make playoffs
March 22, 2010
ATLANTA (AP)—Marvin Williams(notes) scored 26 points to lead three scorers with 20 ormore points and the Atlanta Hawks beat San Antonio 119-114 in overtime on Sundaynight to clinch a playoff berth.
The Hawks got their first win over the Spurs in five years.
Joe Johnson’s(notes) jumper with 1:21 remaining in overtime gave Atlanta a 113-111lead. After a missed 3-pointer by San Antonio’s Matt Bonner(notes), Al Horford(notes) hit ajumper as the shot clock expired to push the lead to four points with 35 secondsremaining.
Horford had 22 points and 18 rebounds and Johnson had 20 points with 13assists as the Hawks ended a seven-game losing streak against the Spurs.
Manu Ginobili(notes) matched his season high with 38 points for San Antonio. TimDuncan(notes) added 29 points and 13 rebounds.
The Spurs had a rough start to perhaps their toughest stretch of the season.They are facing games against Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers, Clevelandand Boston.
A tip-in by Horford tied the game at 105-all with 52 seconds remaining inregulation. After a miss by Ginobili, Johnson missed two shots on the Hawks’final possession of regulation.
The Hawks, who trailed by 14 in the first half, matched their biggestcomeback of the season.
Atlanta kept the lead most of the third period and second half but the Spursstayed close.
The Hawks clinched their third straight playoff spot and moved back into atie with Boston for third place in the Eastern Conference. They have won five oftheir past six games.
The Spurs had their third loss in their last 12 games.
Williams answered coach Mike Woodson’s call for more offense. Williams,averaging 10.2 points, scored 20 or more points for only the third time thisseason.
Williams scored 11 points in the last 5:17 of the first half, including asteal and jumper before the buzzer to give the Hawks a 53-51 halftime lead—their first lead since 4-2.
Williams’ shot capped a 23-9 run to end the half. Another highlight of therun was Josh Smith’s(notes) left-handed jam on an alley-oop pass from Johnson.
Notes: The Spurs’ previous loss to the Hawks came on Dec. 10, 2005, inAtlanta. … Williams’ 18 points in the first half marked his high points totalfor a game in his past nine games. … The Spurs fell to 16-17 away from SanAntonio with their second straight road loss.