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Hawks use stifling defense to rally against Sixers

Dec 4, 2010 - 4:12 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Al Horford's go-ahead three-point play with 31.1 seconds left gave the Atlanta Hawks their first lead of the game, as they rallied from an 18-point deficit and edged the Philadelphia 76ers, 93-88, at Philips Arena.

Horford scored 15 and added 14 rebounds, and Marvin Williams ended with a game-high 22 points for Atlanta, which finished the game on a 15-1 spurt.

The Hawks, who have won five straight, held Philadelphia without a field goal over the final 5:26 of the game. The Sixers missed their final 11 shots from the field in the fourth.

"We tried to put the ball in some guys' hands but we just couldn't get a basket," said Sixers head coach Doug Collins. "That's been my concern all year long.

"In a close game we couldn't find a basket. Our defense was good enough to win; we lost the last four games like that. It's pretty disheartening for our guys."

Josh Smith added nine points and 10 boards and Jamal Crawford scored 15 in a reserve role for the Hawks, who have won four of five in this series.

Elton Brand led Philadelphia with 16 points and 14 boards and Lou Williams contributed 12 points and six assists for the Sixers, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Andre Iguodala scored 10 and added eight rebounds and eight assists, and Evan Turner supplied 11 points in the loss. The Sixers shot just 4-of-20 from the field in the last quarter, blowing a 13-point advantage.

Philadelphia's lead was just 74-69 entering the fourth, but after Brand scored three straight points, the Sixers were back up 13 at 85-72.

Two Crawford free-throws began a 16-3 run for the Hawks that allowed them to knot the game at 88 in the final minute. Horford was fouled on a running layup with 31.1 ticks left on the clock -- the made basket tied the game at 88 -- but his conversion of the three-point play gave Atlanta its first lead of the game.

Crawford was sent to the line for two with 18 seconds left on the clock. He missed the first shot and after the second bounced off the front of the rim Iguodala looked as if he grabbed the rebound for the Sixers. As he went for the ball it slipped out of his hand and was recovered by Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia.

Pachulia sent the ball to the top of the key and Crawford was fouled. After he made the free-throws, the Sixers called a quick 20-second timeout. Out of the break Philly's Jodie Meeks misread the inbounds pass and Horford grabbed the steal, but was fouled by Iguodala before he hit mid court.

Horford made two more from the line with 6.6 seconds left to account for the final margin.

"It was a tough win," said Crawford. "I think that was a gut check and we showed a lot of character and heart. Guys made plays and we hung together and weathered the storm."

Spencer Hawes led the Sixers with nine points in the first quarter and Philadelphia held a 26-18 advantage after the opening 12 minutes.

Lou Williams connected on an open-court dunk off an Iguodala steal with 6 1/2 minutes left to extend the lead to 13. After a Marreese Speights layup at the 4:00 mark the Sixers were up 18 at 50-32. However, the Hawks ended the quarter on a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 54-46 heading into the locker room.

The Sixers opened up the third quarter on a 13-4 run that stretched their lead to 17 midway through. However, following two Iguodala free throws that set the lead at 17, Marvin Williams' layup thirty second later started a 19-5 run for the Hawks that cut the Sixers' lead to 72-69 in the final minute of the quarter.

Lou Williams' driving layup with 24 ticks left put Philadelphia up 74-69 heading into the final stanza.

Game Notes

Atlanta won the first meeting this season 104-101...Meeks finished with nine points while starting for Evan Turner...Philadelphia won the rebounding margin 48-45...Hawes' nine points in the first quarter were his only in the game...Philadelphia shot 3-of-12 from beyond the arc, while Atlanta was 4- of-12...Atlanta was without Joe Johnson, who had elbow surgery on Thursday.