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Hawks rout Mavericks

Feb 26, 2015 - 5:03 AM Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Atlanta Hawks used balanced scoring and a pair of second-half runs to get past the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 104-87 on Wednesday.

The Hawks stumbled early, falling behind 34-22 after the first quarter, but outscored the Mavs by 29 the rest of the way.

"Our defense was better," said Al Horford. "After the second, the first quarter was terrible, but the second quarter was better ... we missed a lot of easy shots, but we found a way."

Dennis Schroder, who scored a career-high 22 points in a win over Dallas earlier in the season, paced Atlanta with 17 points in this one. Kyle Korver made four 3s for 16 points, Paul Millsap tallied 15 with eight rebounds and Horford posted 11 points, eight boards and six assists.

Dallas had won three straight games coming in but was without three starters. Chandler Parsons missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, Tyson Chandler was out with a hip injury and Rajon Rondo was serving a one-game suspension.

Rondo and coach Rick Carlisle exchanged words during a timeout on Tuesday. Rondo was benched for the duration of the game, and the Mavericks announced the suspension earlier on Wednesday.

Newly acquired forward Amar'e Stoudemire (rest) was also out.

Monta Ellis scored 19 points, J.J. Barea had 13 with seven assists and Bernard James grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in a rare start.

"We were moving it good and everybody was knocking down shots, but as the game went on we were having trouble making them," said Carlisle.

Atlanta opened the third quarter on a 19-4 run, putting behind them a forgettable first half and taking control of the game.

After Dirk Nowitzki's jumper three minutes in gave Dallas a four-point lead, Horford split a pair from the foul line and the Hawks tied it for the first time since it was 3-3 when Millsap's triple bounced off the front rim and fell in. Korver followed with five straight points and Millsap scored on consecutive touches to cap the flurry,

Dallas called timeout trailing 66-57.

It was 77-68 after three, and a 12-0 run to open the fourth put the game away.

Game Notes

A leak in the ceiling at Philips Arena caused a brief delay late in the first quarter ... Atlanta improved to 39-2 when leading by double digits at any point this season ... The Hawks hadn't swept a season series with Dallas since 2003-04 ... The Mavericks shot 5-for-31 from 3-point range.