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Hawks drop Grizzlies for fourth straight win

Dec 2, 2010 - 3:42 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Mike Bibby made three of his four three- pointers in the fourth quarter, as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Memphis Grizzlies, 112-109, at Philips Arena.

Bibby finished with 15 points and six assists for the Hawks, who found out before the game that guard Joe Johnson will miss 4-to-6 weeks following surgery on his right elbow.

"I think we have enough off the bench," Atlanta head coach Larry Drew said. "We have guys that are capable. We just have to get some guys to step up a little bit more."

Al Horford added 20 points, six rebounds and six assists for Atlanta, which has won four in a row. Jamal Crawford and Josh Powell each chipped in with 16 points, while Marvin Williams tallied 15 points for the victors.

Rudy Gay had 23 points to pace the Grizzlies, who have dropped two of three since a three-game winning streak. Mike Conley donated 22 points and nine assists, while Zach Randolph added 19 points and 19 boards in defeat.

The Grizzlies led by as many as seven in the first quarter and took a 29-27 edge into the second.

Atlanta took a 37-36 lead early in the second on back-to-back three-pointers from Maurice Evans and Crawford.

The Hawks scored the final seven points of the half to take a 63-57 advantage into the locker room.

Ahead by five, 75-70, late in the third, Atlanta put together a 7-2 flurry to build a 10-point lead. Williams capped the burst with a three-point play for an 82-72 margin. It was 86-76 heading to the fourth.

Memphis scored the first eight points of the fourth to get within two, 86-84, on O.J. Mayo's floater.

Conley's layup and jumper cut the Grizzlies' deficit to 95-94 with 4:37 to play. Bibby then came up with a big three-pointer to give Atlanta a four-point lead. Josh Smith made a layup following Gay's missed jumper to make it a 100-94 game with 3:47 to go.

The score was 102-97 moments later when Bibby made another trey. Memphis responded with a small 5-1 flurry to make it a 106-102 contest, but Bibby came up with his third three-pointer of the frame with 17.8 seconds remaining.

The Grizzlies trailed by three, 112-109, after Crawford made 1-of-2 from the foul line with 2.5 seconds left. Memphis, though, failed to get a shot off as time expired.

"We started the game pretty good but then we sagged in the second quarter and you can't do that with a team like Atlanta," Grizzlies center Marc Gasol said. "They have All-Star players and they know how to execute."

Game Notes

Atlanta beat Memphis, 119-104, on the road this season back on October 27 and has won four straight and nine of the past 10 encounters. The Grizzlies are winless in five straight and 13 of 16 games at Philips Arena...Memphis was without forward Darrell Arthur (groin)..The Grizzlies have lost four in a row on the road to fall to 2-7 outside of FedEx Forum in 2010-11...Mayo had 10 points.