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Childress, Smith lead Hawks past slumping Kings

Mar 20, 2007 - 2:47 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Hawks had to many Joshes on the court.

Josh Childress scored 25 points and Josh Smith finished just one point shy of his first career triple-double as the Hawks coasted to a 99-76 triumph over the slumping Sacramento Kings.

Zaza Pachulia netted 23 points and Marvin Williams added 13 and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, which improved to 5-2 without injured All-Star Joe Johnson.

"(Pachulia's) had a few good offensive games," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "I just thought, defensively, he was solid. He made shots."

The win also helped the Hawks capture their fifth straight win at Phillips Arena for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign.

"I wish we'd done that earlier," Woodson said. "We'd really be positioned for a playoff spot. But anything can happen. We got eight at home and five on the road."

"We've been trying to protect our home court and five in a row at home shows some progress," Williams said. "We're working hard to take care of things on the defensive end and let the offense handle itself. (Monday) was a good example of that."

A former dunk champion, Smith had nine points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. He had a chance to record the triple-double, but missed a pair of free throws in the fourth before being pulled.

"I can understand where (Woodson) was coming from," Smith said. "He probably didn't want me to get hurt. It's kind of a respect thing."

"I was so mad," Childress said about Smith. "A triple-double, that's something I dream about. He was so close."

A 6-8 swingman, Childress shot 10-of-15 from the floor en route to his first 20-point performance since January 31.

"Points just kind of came," Childress said. "I got layups. I got wide open shots."

Atlanta closed the opening quarter with a 14-4 surge to hold a 31-21 advantage. Williams scored seven points in the period.

Taking a 53-42 lead into the second half, the Hawks put away the game by outscoring the Kings, 25-8, in the third period. The points surrendered tied the lowest by an Atlanta opponent in franchise history.

Corliss Williamson scored 14 points and Kevin Martin added 13 for Sacramento (29-38), which fell 2 1/2 games behind Golden State (32-36) for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"This game was disappointing, but we still have a chance to make a run to the playoffs, so we can't worry to much about it," Kings forward Ron Artest said.

"This was an old-fashioned butt-kicking," Sacramento forward forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. "There's nothing you can say about this game other than that."