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Crawford, Hawks send Heat to fourth straight loss

Jan 19, 2011 - 4:50 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Jamal Crawford supplied 19 points off the bench, and the Atlanta Hawks topped the Miami Heat, 93-89, in an overtime thriller at American Airlines Arena, to give the Heat their fourth consecutive loss.

Joe Johnson added 19 points to go along with 10 assists for Atlanta, which has won two straight and seven of eight overall. Both Josh Smith and Mike Bibby scored 15 points, while Smith added 12 rebounds for the victors.

"We just hung in there," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "We got off to a really good start, especially that first quarter. We weathered the storm, and we were only down one at the end of the half. I though that was a pretty good position to be in, being in this building."

LeBron James finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists for Miami, which has dropped four games for the first time this season. Dwyane Wade added 27 points, including 11-of-12 from the line, for the Heat, who played without forward Chris Bosh.

Bosh missed his first game as a member of the Heat while he deals with a sprained left ankle he suffered during Saturday's loss to the Bulls.

With the game knotted at 77 at the end of regulation, the Hawks opened up the overtime with a Maurice Evans three-pointer to take an early lead. After the teams traded baskets, James' three with 2:42 remaining put the game at 82-82.

Another James three with 51.9 seconds remaining tied the game at 89 apiece, however, Smith's driving layup on the following possession put the Hawks up for good.

Miami called a quick timeout, but out of the break James was off target on a long triple, and after grabbing the rebound, the Hawks called a timeout. Wade was forced to foul out of the break, and Johnson iced two free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to account for the final margin.

James attempted a three at the buzzer but the shot was off target.

"[The Hawks] made all the right plays down the stretch," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "If somebody came to help, they found the open man."

Atlanta took a 58-55 lead into the final stanza, but, after a quick surge from the Heat in the opening minutes of the fourth, Miami took a 61-60 lead with a Wade driving layup at 9:14. Crawford tied the game with 1-of-2 from the line a little over a minute later, and the game remained close in the final minutes.

Evans tied the game at 72-72 with the back end of two from the line just over the two minute mark, and the teams traded free throws down the stretch. James' driving finger roll layup and three-point conversion with 35.9 seconds left gave the Heat a 77-75 lead.

The Hawks immediately called a timeout, and out of the break, Johnson nailed a running jumper with 25.4 seconds left to put the game at 77-all.

James missed a potential game-winning three in the final seconds of regulation.

Miami came out flat in the first quarter, shooting 4-of-19 from the field, and trailed 19-11 after 12 minutes. The Hawks took a 35-34 lead into the half.

The third quarter remained close until the closing minutes. Crawford's jump shot at 1:52 tied the game at 52, and also started a quick 8-0 spurt that had the Hawks up 58-52 with 34.7 seconds remaining. Eddie House ended the run with a three-pointer inside the final 30 seconds, and Atlanta took a 58-55 lead into the final stanza.

Game Notes

Atlanta had lost 25 of its previous 28 trips to Miami, including a 89-77 setback on December 4...Evans finished with 11 points on 4-of-9 from the field...The Heat shot 13-of-13 from the line in the overtime period.